frost

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   A thin layer of tiny ice crystals that forms on cold surfaces.

   There was frost on the car windows this morning.

2. 2
   noun

   Very cold weather that freezes water outdoors.

   The frost killed many of the young plants in the garden.

3. 3
   verb

   To become covered with frost.

   The windows frosted over during the freezing night.

4. 4
   verb

   To cover a cake with frosting.

   She frosted the cake with chocolate icing.

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.

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