frost

Meaning

Noun

1. (countable, uncountable) 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.
2. (countable, uncountable) The cold weather that causes these ice crystals to form.
3. (countable, figuratively, uncountable) Coldness or insensibility; severity or rigidity of character.
4. (countable, obsolete, uncountable) The act of freezing; the congelation of water or other liquid.
5. (countable, uncountable) A shade of white, like that of frost.
6. (countable, dated, slang, uncountable) A disappointment; a cheat.
7. (countable, uncountable) A kind of light diffuser.

Verb

1. (transitive) To cover with frost.
2. (intransitive) To become covered with frost.
3. (transitive) To coat (something, e.g. a cake) with icing to resemble frost.
4. (informal, transitive) To anger or annoy.
5. (transitive) To sharpen (the points of a horse's shoe) to prevent it from slipping on ice.
6. (transitive) To bleach individual strands of hair while leaving adjacent strands untouched.

Synonyms

freeze

hoarfrost

rime

ice

🧊

cold

🥶

hoar

coldness

dew

freezing cold

snow

❄️

glaze

frostiness

frigidity

chill

nip

chilliness

icicles

iciness

icing

gelidity

coolness

frozeness

bitterness

intensely cold weather

night frost

hoar frost

glaciation

freezing

bitter cold

unfriendliness

white frost

bespeckle

freeze out

freezing weather

frost-bite

ground frost

freeze down

mild weather

dull polish

hard rime

bespot

frozen subsoil

biting cold

chafe

cold wave

congelation

crystallized

drizzle

enrobe

failure

Translations

Frost

gel

helada

givre

gelo

geada

gelée

vorst

gelata

gelu

escarcha

brina

glaçada

gelada

Pronounced as (IPA)

/fɹɒst/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: frost

Inherited from Old English: forst

Cognate with Western Frisian: froast

Cognate with Dutch: vorst

Cognate with German: Frost

Cognate with Swedish: frost

Cognate with Norwegian: frost

Cognate with Icelandic: frost

Cognate with Latin: pruīna

In summary

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 Saterland Frisian Froast, Fröäst (“frost”), West Frisian froast (“frost”), Cimbrian bròst, vrost, vròst (“frost”), Dutch vorst (“frost”), German Frost (“frost”), Luxembourgish Frascht (“frost”), Vilamovian fröst (“frost”), Danish, Faroese, Icelandic, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, Swedish frost (“frost”), Latin pruīna (“hoarfrost, frost, rime, snow”). Related to freeze.