Etymologically
Log in

frendo

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 16 October 2026 at 04:19. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ˈfrɛn.doː][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈfrɛn.do][1]

Forms

frendō (present infinitive frendere, perfect active frenduī, supine frēsum or fressum); third conjugation[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *χwrend-, inherited from Proto-Indo-European *gʷʰrend(ʰ)-e/o- (“to grind”).[2][1] Cognate with Old English grindan (“to grind”), Lithuanian grę́sti (“to plane, scour”) and Old Norse grandi (“sandbank”).[2][3] De Vaan notes that Germanic needs *dʰ but Baltic *d, so the words cannot be united under one certain form; they may be different suffixes to a root *gʷʰren-.[2] The adjective nefrēns “not grinding its teeth”, of a young pig, is odd, since one expects *infrend-.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan dates it from Plautus.[2] Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC.[4]

Semantic evolution

It meant to grind or gnash the teeth in rage, dentibus frendere, as Cicero's verse and Virgil's Proteus gnashing his teeth, and Livy's Hannibal who gnashed his teeth at being recalled.[3][5] It also meant to grind corn or beans into meal, or to crunch with the teeth.[3] It is found in both the third and second conjugations.[3][6]

Its descendants include Spanish fresar and Catalan fresar.[1]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it.[3][4]
  • 70–19 BC – Virgil's Proteus gnashes his teeth.[5][4]
  • 59 BC–17 AD – Livy's Hannibal gnashes his teeth.[5][4]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To gnash one's teeth in rage.[3]
  2. To grind (corn, beans) into meal; to crunch.[3]

Word family

  • dēfrensus
  • frendor
  • īnfrendō
  • nefrēns
  • suffrendens
  • frendēscō
  • English grind

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  5. ^ a b c Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  6. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press