frais

French has two words spelled frais: the adjective “fresh, cool”, of Germanic origin, and the plural noun “costs”, from Latin frāctum “something broken”.^[1][2][3]

frais¹ fresh, cool

Pronunciation

• IPA: /fʁɛ/^[3]

Forms

frais (feminine fraîche or fraiche, masculine plural frais, feminine plural fraîches or fraiches)^[3] Old French freis, frois, feminine fresche, frais, fraische from the 14th century.^[4][2] The Académie wrote the feminine fraische in 1694 and 1718.^[5]

Etymology

The adjective is inherited from Old French freis, borrowed from Frankish *frisk (“fresh”), a Germanic word used of temperature and figuratively of what is recent or unwithered.^[4][1][2][6] The TLFi calls it West Germanic and compares Old High German frisc, Middle High German vrisch and German frisch, Wiktionary goes through a Vulgar Latin “*friscum”.^[5][3] Since the figurative senses are found in all its descendants, Bloch and Wartburg conclude that they go back to the Germanic word itself.^[2] The feminine “fraîche” keeps the /k/ of “*friska” before ⟨a⟩, changed to /ʃ/, while the final /k/ of the masculine was lost.^[5] Littré noted that the ⟨s⟩ rules out any link with Latin frīgus (“cold”).^[7]

Cognate with Italian fresco, Spanish fresco, Old Occitan fresc and English fresh.^[2][4][7] fresque is a doublet borrowed from Italian.^[8][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

In the Chanson de Roland (about 1100) fresche herbe is fresh, unspoiled grass, Rashi's glosses (late 11th century) already have fresc for wine just drawn from the cask.^[5][7]

Semantic evolution

From the first texts it meant fresh, not spoiled, of food, and about 1160 meat neither salted nor smoked; hence what is recent: news, a wound, a memory (about 1355), de frais “newly” (1552, rasé de frais), wet paint (1643) and argent frais “new funds” (1563).^[4][5] Of people and flowers it meant vigorous, blooming (1155–65), and of a complexion or a laugh, youthful.^[4] Ironically nous voilà frais ! means “we're in a fine mess” (1808; earlier in 1799).^[4][9]

The sense “slightly cold” is found about 1200, il fait frais in Froissart, the noun le frais “cool air” in Du Bellay (1549), and prendre le frais in 1660.^[5][4] Mettre au frais was slang for “to put in prison” (1685).^[4] At sea vent frais is a strong, favourable wind (Amyot, 1559).^[5] Figuratively it means unfriendly, cool (un accueil frais); in Quebec a frais person is cheeky, conceited.^[4]

Timeline

• Late 11th century – Fresc in Rashi's glosses.^[5]
• c. 1100 – Fresche herbe, Chanson de Roland.^[5]
• 1155 – Of renewed strength, Wace.^[5]
• c. 1200 – “Slightly cold”, Aiol.^[5]
• 1393 – Adverb “newly”: fresches tuées.^[5]
• 1549 – Le frais, cool air, Du Bellay.^[5]
• 1559 – Vent frais, Amyot.^[5]
• 1660 – Prendre le frais.^[4]
• 1808 – Ironic être frais.^[4]

Meanings

Adjective

1. cool, slightly cold; pleasantly cold: un vent frais, de l'eau fraîche.^[10][8]
2. fresh, recently produced, not spoiled or preserved: œufs frais, pain frais, légumes frais.^[4][3]
3. Recent, new: une nouvelle fraîche; wet: peinture fraîche, argent frais.^[4][5]
4. Fresh, rested, vigorous; youthful: frais et dispos, un teint frais.^[3][4]
5. Cool, unfriendly: un accueil plutôt frais.^[4]
6. (familiar, ironic) In a fix: nous voilà frais !.^[4][9]

Adverb

1. Coolly: il fait frais, boire frais.^[10][5]
2. Newly, freshly: frais émoulu, frais cueilli.^[4]

Noun

1. Le frais: cool air, the cool: prendre le frais, mettre au frais.^[11][4]
2. (nautical) A strong breeze: grand frais.^[11][5]

Word family

• fraîche
• fraîchement
• fraîcheur
• fraîchir
• rafraîchir
• défraîchir

frais² costs

Pronunciation

• IPA: /fʁɛ/^[3]

Forms

frais m pl (plural only)^[3] Old French fres (about 1283), plural of frait, fret, frais about 1330.^[12][1]

Etymology

The noun is inherited from Old French frait, also “fret”, used in the plural; it continues inherited from Latin frāctum (“something broken”), the neuter of frāctus (“broken”), the past participle of frangō (“to break”).^{[1][12][2][3][13]} The first sense of “fret” (1266) was damage caused by breaking something, from the phrase “paier le fret” “to pay for the breakage”, whence the cost of repairing it.^[2][8][7] The singular “frait” “expense” is implied by the verb “fraier” “to bear the costs” (1260), source of défrayer.^[2][12] Littré considered and rejected Medieval Latin fredum (“a fine for breach of the peace”).^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

Beaumanoir's Coutumes de Beauvaisis (about 1283) has the plural fres for the expenses caused by an affair; the Anglo-Norman fres “expenses, costs” is found in 1296–97.^[2][12][14]

Semantic evolution

In Old French the singular was still often used.^[2] Furetière (1690) records faux frais and frais et loyaux coûts, frais généraux is found before 1865 (Proudhon), and frais de représentation in 1890.^[12] Legal costs, frais de justice, are recorded in 1872.^[12] Figurative phrases include faire les frais de something, en être pour ses frais, se mettre en frais and arrêter les frais (1867).^[8][9]

Timeline

• 1260 – The verb fraier, to bear the costs.^[12]
• 1266 – Fret, damage from breakage.^[2]
• c. 1283 – Fres, expenses, Beaumanoir.^[12][2]
• c. 1330 – The spelling frais.^[12]
• 1373 – Défrayer.^[2]
• 1690 – Faux frais.^[12]
• 1867 – Arrêter les frais.^[9]

Meanings

Noun

1. (plural) Costs, expenses: frais de déplacement, tous frais payés, partager les frais.^[8][3][11]
2. An allowance for expenses: frais de mission, note de frais.^[11]
3. (law) Costs of proceedings: frais de justice.^[12]
4. À mes frais, at my expense, aux frais de, à grands frais, faux frais, incidental expenses.^[8][12]
5. In phrases: faire les frais de, to bear the brunt of, en être pour ses frais, to have wasted one's effort, arrêter les frais, to call it a day.^[8][9]

Word family

• défrayer

Related words

• froid
• fresque
• frisquet
• English fresh
• fracture
• fragile
• enfreindre

References

1. ^ a b c d Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 15/2, 173a
7. ^ a b c d e Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
8. ^ a b c d e f g Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
9. ^ a b c d e Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
10. ^ a b Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)
11. ^ a b c d Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
12. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
13. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 3, 755b
14. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)