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frigefacto

Etymology and origin of the Latin word frigefacto

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Confidence
Established
Formation
Compound
First attested
Plautus
Ultimate origin
Latin (frīgeō,faciō)

Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [friː.ɡɛˈfak.toː][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [fri.d͡ʒeˈfak.to][1]

Forms

frīgefactō (present infinitive frīgefactāre); first conjugation, no perfect or supine stems[1]

Etymology

It is from frīgeō “to be cold” and faciō “to make”, with the frequentative suffix ⟨-tō⟩.[2][3][1] The TLL compares ⟨frīgēscere⟩ and ⟨calefactāre⟩.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is found only in Plautus, ōs nunc frīgefactās “now you are cooling your mouth”, in the Poenulus and Rudens.[3][5] Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC.[6]

Semantic evolution

It meant to make cold, cool, in Plautus in figurative phrases.[2][3]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it.[3][6]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To make cold, cool.[2][3]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  4. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  5. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  6. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
Cite this entry

“Frigefacto.” Etymologically, 17 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/frigefacto. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·