Etymologically
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refrigerator

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 26 October 2026 at 02:13. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • UK: /ɹɪˈfɹɪd͡ʒ.əˌɹeɪ.tə/[1]
  • US: /ɹɪˈfɹɪd͡ʒ.əˌɹeɪ.tɚ/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English refrigerate + -or.[2][3][4][5] The verb is from Latin refrīgerō (“to make cool”),[3][2][6][7] from re- and frīgerō (“to make cool”), from frīgus (“cold”), the source of frigid.[6][7] The OED compares French réfrigérateur, also in Cotgrave in 1611 but rare, and the slightly earlier refrigeratory.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Something that cools or has a cooling effect, also figuratively: 1611, in Cotgrave's French–English dictionary.[2][6][8]

Semantic evolution

In the 18th century the word was used for apparatus that absorbs or carries off heat, such as a chemist's cooler (1718) and the vat for cooling wort in a brewery;[2] Etymonline notes that the sense of a food store grew out of the brewery trade.[3] A chamber or cabinet kept near or below freezing, mainly for storing food, is recorded from 1803, in a title by T. Moore,[2] and Etymonline dates it to 1824.[3] Electric household refrigerators were widely available from about 1918.[3] In this sense French réfrigérateur (1892) apparently followed English.[2] The colloquial shortening frigerator is attested by 1886, and fridge from 1926, perhaps influenced by the brand name Frigidaire.[3] In 19th-century American slang a refrigerator was also a local jail.[9]

Timeline

  • 1611 – something that cools.[2][6]
  • 1718 – an apparatus for absorbing or carrying off heat.[2]
  • 1803 – a chamber or cabinet kept cold, for storing food.[2]
  • 1824 – a cold store (Etymonline), originally in brewing.[3]
  • 1883 – US slang, a jail.[9]
  • 1886 – the shortening frigerator.[3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. An appliance, cabinet or room in which food and drink are kept cold; a fridge: Put the leftovers in the refrigerator.[10][8][2]
  2. Something that cools or keeps things cool.[8][2][4]
  3. An apparatus for quickly cooling hot liquids or vapours, as in distillation; a condenser.[8]
  4. A vat for cooling wort in a brewery.[2]

Word family

  • fridge
  • refrig
  • refrigerator-freezer
  • walk-in refrigerator
  • refrigerate
  • refrigeration
  • refrigerant
  • frigid

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  6. ^ a b c d Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  7. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  8. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  9. ^ a b Green, Jonathon (2010), Green's Dictionary of Slang, London: Chambers; digital ed. 2016–, https://greensdictofslang.com
  10. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins