frost English · revision 15187

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 725|origins=ine-pro *preus-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /frɒst/, US /frɑːst/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|frost]], [[inh|ang|forst]], also [[m|ang|frost]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) from [[gem-pro|*frustaz|t=frost]],^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) formed from [[m|gem-pro|*freusanan|t=to freeze]] (see [[freeze]]),^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) from [[ine-pro|*preus-|t=to freeze]].^(Etymonline) It is cognate with [[osx|frost]], [[ofs|frost]], [[goh|frost]], [[nl|vorst]] and [[non|frost]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) Forst was the commoner Old English form until the late 15th century;^(Etymonline) Hoad thinks frost won through Old Norse influence,^(Hoad 1986) Etymonline through its likeness to the other Germanic forms.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Freezing, extreme cold: before 700 in the OED;^(OED 1989) about 725 as forst in Barnhart, with frost before 800.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Frozen dew or vapour, hoarfrost, is from before 1000,^(OED 1989) and figurative uses from about 1200;^(OED 1989) coldness of manner is from 1635.^(OED 1989) A ''black frost'', one that kills plants without visible rime, is from the late 14th century.^(Etymonline) Jack Frost appears in the 18th century.^(Cresswell 2021) The slang sense of a failure began in the theatre (1886).^(OED 1989) The verb, to cover with frost, is from the 1630s in Etymonline or 1572 in Merriam-Webster,^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) and to freeze from 1807.^(Etymonline) Frosty is from the 14th century.^(Hoad 1986) In dialects of Scotland, Ireland and England a ''duck's frost'' was a drizzling rain.^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * before 700 – freezing, extreme cold.^(OED 1989)

+ * before 1000 – frozen dew, hoarfrost.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1200 – figurative frost.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1572 – to frost (verb).^(MWU 2024)

+ * 1635 – coldness of manner.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1886 – a failure (slang).^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A deposit of tiny ice crystals formed when water vapour freezes, especially on objects outdoors at night; [[hoarfrost]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A temperature low enough to cause freezing.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Degrees below freezing point: ''eight degrees of frost''.^(Collins 2023)

+ # Coldness of manner.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(informal)'' A failure.^(Collins 2023)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To cover with frost, or to become covered with it.^(AHD)

+ # To damage or kill by frost.^(AHD)

+ # To give glass a roughened, [[translucent]] surface.^(AHD)

+ # To cover a cake with [[icing]].^(AHD)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[frostless]]

+ * [[frostlike]]

+ * [[frostbite]]

+ * [[frostbitten]]

+ * [[frosty]]

+ * [[hoarfrost]]

+ * [[permafrost]]

+ * [[defrost]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[freeze]]

+ * [[frore]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}