frank English · revision 3387
15 Oct 2026, 19:41 by bogdan “en10k b0111: connection … raise” current version
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+ English has two words spelled ''frank'': the adjective “candid”, from Old French franc “free”, and the noun “frankfurter”, a shortening.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)
+
+ ==Pronunciation==
+ * IPA: /fræŋk/^(Roach et al. 2011)
+
+ {{homograph|1|candid}}
+
+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=before 1300|origins=frk *frank}}
+
+ ==Etymology==
+ The adjective is [[inh|enm|franc|t=free, generous]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) [[bor|fro|franc|t=free, sincere, genuine]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) from [[la-med|francus|t=free, exempt from service; a freeman, a Frank]],^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(MWU 2024) from [[la-lat|Francus|t=a Frank]],^(MWU 2024) from [[frk|*Frank]], the people's own name.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) It is a generalization of the tribal name: in Frankish Gaul full freedom belonged only to the conquering Franks.^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(Barnhart 1988) The name itself may come from the Germanic word for a javelin, Old English franca, their national weapon.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986)^(Etymonline) The verb is from the adjective.^(Hoad 1986)
+
+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==
+ Free, liberal, generous: probably before 1300 in Barnhart^(Barnhart 1988) and about 1300 in Etymonline,^(Etymonline) and in the surname Franc in 1182.^(Barnhart 1988)
+
+ ==Semantic evolution==
+ “Of superior quality” and “bounteous” are 15th-century senses.^(Hoad 1986) “Outspoken, candid” is from 1548,^(Barnhart 1988) the 1540s in Etymonline.^(Etymonline) The Century Dictionary noted that openness can go with timidity, while frankness implies some boldness.^(Etymonline) From the sense “free of charge” came the verb, to mark a letter with a signature so that it travels free, and later to stamp it, from the 18th century;^(Hoad 1986) Merriam-Webster dates the verb 1701.^(MWU 2024)
+
+ ==Timeline==
+ * 1182 – the surname Franc.^(Barnhart 1988)
+ * before 1300 – free, generous.^(Barnhart 1988)
+ * 1548 – candid, outspoken.^(Barnhart 1988)
+ * 18th century – verb, to frank a letter.^(Hoad 1986)
+
+ ==Modern meaning==
+ ===Adjective===
+ # Open and honest in speech; [[candid]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)
+ # Clearly evident; undisguised: ''frank hostility''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)
+
+ ===Verb===
+ # To mark a letter so that it can be sent free of charge, or to show that postage has been paid.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)
+
+ ===Noun===
+ # A mark or signature on mail showing that it may go free; the right to send mail free.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)
+
+ ==Word family==
+ * [[frankly]]
+ * [[frankness]]
+ * [[franking machine]]
+
+ {{homograph|2|frankfurter}}
+
+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=clipping|attested=1916|origins=en frankfurter}}
+
+ ==Etymology==
+ The sausage is a shortening of [[frankfurter]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)
+
+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==
+ A frankfurter: by 1916 in American English in Etymonline,^(Etymonline) and 1936, in a letter of E. E. Cummings, in Barnhart.^(Barnhart 1988)
+
+ ==Semantic evolution==
+ ''Franks and beans'' is attested by 1953.^(Etymonline)
+
+ ==Timeline==
+ * 1916 – a frankfurter.^(Etymonline)
+ * 1953 – ''franks and beans''.^(Etymonline)
+
+ ==Modern meaning==
+ ===Noun===
+ # ''(North American informal)'' A [[frankfurter]] or [[hot dog]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)
+
+ ==Related words==
+ * [[Frank]]
+ * [[franchise]]
+ * [[France]]
+ * [[frankincense]]
+
+ ==Usage notes==
+ ''Frank'' with a capital is a member of the Germanic people who conquered Gaul about 500 and gave their name to France; in the Levant from the 16th century it meant any Western European.^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(OED 1989) The OED also has a separate ''frank'', an enclosure for fattening hogs, from about 1400.^(OED 1989)
+
+ ==References==
+ {{reflist}}