frost
English
![](Images/wiktionary/FrostyLeaf.jpg.webp)
![](Images/wiktionary/Fleur_de_givre_L.jpg.webp)
Alternative forms
- froste (obsolete)
Etymology
From Middle English frost, from an unmetathesized variant of Old English forst (“frost”), from Proto-Germanic *frustaz (“frost”), from Proto-Indo-European *prews- (“to freeze; frost”). Cognate with West Frisian froast (“frost”), Dutch vorst (“frost”), German Frost (“frost”), Swedish frost (“frost”), Norwegian frost (“frost”), Icelandic frost (“frost”), Latin pruīna (“hoarfrost, frost, rime, snow”). Related to freeze.
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /fɹɒst/
- (General American) IPA(key): /fɹɔst/
- (cot–caught merger, Canada) IPA(key): /fɹɑst/
Audio (US) (file) - Rhymes: -ɒst, -ɔːst
Noun
frost (countable and uncountable, plural frosts)
- A cover of minute ice crystals on objects that are exposed to the air. Frost is formed by the same process as dew, except that the temperature of the frosted object is below freezing.
- The cold weather that causes these ice crystals to form.
- 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], OCLC 964384981, Genesis 31:40:
- Thus I was; in the day the drought consumed me, and the frost by night; and my sleep departed from mine eyes.
- 1748. David Hume. Enquiries concerning the human understanding and concerning the principles of moral. London: Oxford University Press, 1973. § 47.
- It is more probable, in almost every country of Europe, that there will be frost sometime in January, than that the weather will continue open throughout that whole month;
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- (figurative) Coldness or insensibility; severity or rigidity of character.
- 1815 February 24, [Walter Scott], Guy Mannering; or, The Astrologer. […], volume (please specify |volume=I, II, or III), Edinburgh: […] James Ballantyne and Co. for Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, […]; and Archibald Constable and Co., […], OCLC 742335644:
- It was one of those moments of intense feeling when the frost of the Scottish people melts like a snow-wreath.
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- (obsolete) The act of freezing; the congelation of water or other liquid.
- A shade of white, like that of frost.
- frost:
- (slang, dated) A disappointment; a cheat.
- (television) A kind of light diffuser.
- 2013, Alan Bermingham, Location Lighting for Television (page 9-26)
- Frosts and diffusion are flame retardant and produce similar results except that some of the frosts are very subtle in their effects. For example: Hamburg Frost will soften the beam edge with little additional spread of the beam.
- 2013, Alan Bermingham, Location Lighting for Television (page 9-26)
Derived terms
- black frost
- degree of frost
- frost-bearer
- frostbite
- frostbitten
- frost-blite
- frostbound
- frost burn
- frost fair
- frost faire
- frost flower
- frost grape
- frost heave
- frost heaving
- frost lamp
- frost line
- frost moon
- frost-nail
- frost nail
- frost piece
- frost quake
- frost smoke
- frost-tender
- frost up
- frost-worked
- frosty
- ground frost
- hoar-frost
- hoar frost, hoarfrost
- Jack Frost
- permafrost
- silver frost
- uremic frost
Translations
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Verb
frost (third-person singular simple present frosts, present participle frosting, simple past and past participle frosted)
- (transitive) To cover with frost.
- (intransitive) To become covered with frost.
- (transitive) To coat (something, e.g. a cake) with icing to resemble frost.
- (transitive, informal) To anger or annoy.
- I think the boss's decision frosted him a bit.
- (transitive) To sharpen (the points of a horse's shoe) to prevent it from slipping on ice.
- (transitive) To bleach individual strands of hair while leaving adjacent strands untouched.
Derived terms
- frosting
Translations
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Anagrams
- forts, frots
Danish
Etymology
From Old Norse frost.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /frɔst/, [fʁ̥ʌsd̥]
Noun
frost c (singular definite frosten, not used in plural form)
- frost
Declension
common gender | Singular | |
---|---|---|
indefinite | definite | |
nominative | frost | frosten |
genitive | frosts | frostens |
References
- “frost” in Den Danske Ordbog
Icelandic
Etymology
From Old Norse frost.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /frɔst/
- Rhymes: -ɔst
Noun
frost n (genitive singular frosts, nominative plural frost)
- frost
Declension
n-s | singular | plural | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
indefinite | definite | indefinite | definite | |
nominative | frost | frostið | frost | frostin |
accusative | frost | frostið | frost | frostin |
dative | frosti | frostinu | frostum | frostunum |
genitive | frosts | frostsins | frosta | frostanna |
See also
- kuldi
Middle English
Alternative forms
- forst, froste
Etymology
From Old English frost, forst, from Proto-West Germanic *frost, from Proto-Germanic *frustaz, *frustą; akin to Middle Dutch vorst, Middle High German vrost, Middle Low German vrost, and Old Swedish frost.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /frɔst/, /fɔrst/
Noun
frost (plural frostes)
- Cold or freezing weather; weather causing frost.
- Frost or rime; frozen dew or water droplets.
- Hail; precipitation below freezing temperature.
- (rare, figurative) Something with a chilling effect.
Derived terms
- frosty
Descendants
- English: frost
- Scots: frost
- Yola: vrosth, vroste, vrast
References
- “frost, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-10-31.
Norwegian Bokmål
Etymology
From Old Norse frost n.
Noun
frost m (definite singular frosten)
- frost
Derived terms
- frostsikker
- frostvæske
- rimfrost
References
- “frost” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
Norwegian Nynorsk
Etymology
From Old Norse frost n.
Noun
frost m (definite singular frosten)
- frost
Derived terms
- frostsikker
- frostvæske
- rimfrost
References
- “frost” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.
Old High German
Etymology
From Proto-Germanic *frustą, *frustaz, akin to Old English frost, Old Norse frost.
Noun
frost m
- frost
Declension
case | singular | plural |
---|---|---|
nominative | frost | frosta |
accusative | frost | frosta |
genitive | frostes | frosto |
dative | froste | frostum |
instrumental | frostu | — |
Derived terms
- gruntfrost
Descendants
- Middle High German: vrost
- Cimbrian: vròst, bròst, vrost
- German: Frost
- Luxembourgish: Frascht
- Vilamovian: fröst
Old Norse
Etymology
From Proto-Germanic *frustą, *frustaz, akin to Old English frost, Old High German frost.
Noun
frost n
- frost
Descendants
- Icelandic: frost
- Faroese: frost, frostur m (masculine is archaic)
- Norwegian: frost
- Old Swedish: frost
- Swedish: frost
- Danish: frost
- Westrobothnian: fröyst (also via frööys (verb)), frass-
References
- “frost”, in Geir T. Zoëga (1910) A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic, Oxford: Clarendon Press
Swedish
Etymology
From Old Norse frost, from Proto-Germanic *frustą, *frustaz.
Pronunciation
audio (file)
Noun
frost c
- frost
Declension
Declension of frost | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Uncountable | ||||
Indefinite | Definite | |||
Nominative | frost | frosten | — | — |
Genitive | frosts | frostens | — | — |
Anagrams
- forst-, forts