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Webster 1913 Edition

Frost

Frost

(frŏst; 115)
,
Noun.
[OE.
frost
,
forst
, AS.
forst
,
frost
. fr.
freósan
to freeze; akin to D.
varst
, G., OHG., Icel., Dan., & Sw.
frost
. √18. See
Freeze
,
Verb.
I.
]
1.
The act of freezing; – applied chiefly to the congelation of water; congelation of fluids.
2.
The state or temperature of the air which occasions congelation, or the freezing of water; severe cold or freezing weather.
The third bay comes a
frost
, a killing
frost
.
Shakespeare
3.
Frozen dew; – called also
hoarfrost
or
white frost
.
He scattereth the hoar
frost
like ashes.
Ps. cxlvii. 16.
4.
Coldness or insensibility; severity or rigidity of character.
[R.]
It was of those moments of intense feeling when the
frost
of the Scottish people melts like a snow wreath.
Sir W. Scott.
Black frost
,
cold so intense as to freeze vegetation and cause it to turn black, without the formation of hoarfrost.
–
Frost bearer
(Physics)
,
a philosophical instrument illustrating the freezing of water in a vacuum; a cryophorus.
–
Frost grape
(Bot.)
,
an American grape, with very small, acid berries.
–
Frost lamp
,
a lamp placed below the oil tube of an Argand lamp to keep the oil limpid on cold nights; – used especially in lighthouses.
Knight.
–
Frost nail
,
a nail with a sharp head driven into a horse’s shoe to keep him from slipping.
–
Frost smoke
,
an appearance resembling smoke, caused by congelation of vapor in the atmosphere in time of severe cold.

–
Frost valve
,
a valve to drain the portion of a pipe, hydrant, pump, etc., where water would be liable to freeze.
–
Jack Frost
,
a popular personification of frost.

Frost

,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Frosted
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Frosting
.]
1.
To injure by frost; to freeze, as plants.
2.
To cover with hoarfrost; to produce a surface resembling frost upon, as upon cake, metals, or glass;
as, glass may be
frosted
by exposure to hydrofluoric acid
.
While with a hoary light she
frosts
the ground.
Wordsworth.
3.
To roughen or sharpen, as the nail heads or calks of horseshoes, so as to fit them for frosty weather.

Webster 1828 Edition

Frost

FROST

,
Noun.
1.
A fluid congealed by cold into ice or crystals; as hoar-frost, which is dew or vapor congealed.
He scattereth the hoar-frost like ashes. Ps. 147.
2.
The act of freezing; congelation of fluids.
The third day comes a frost, a killing frost.
3.
In physiology, that state or temperature of the air which occasions freezing or the coagelation of water.
4.
The appearance of plants sparkling with icy crystals.

FROST

, v.t.
1.
In cookery, to cover or sprinkle with a composition of sugar, resembling hoar-frost; as, to frost cake.
2.
To cover with any thing resembling hoarfrost.

Definition 2024

Frost

Frost

See also: frost and fröst

English

Proper noun

Frost

  1. A surname​.

Derived terms

German

Etymology

From Old High German frost

Pronunciation

Noun

Frost m ‎(genitive Frostes or Frosts, plural Fröste)

  1. frost

Declension

Derived terms

Plautdietsch

Noun

Frost m

  1. frost

Derived terms

  • frostijch

frost

frost

See also: Frost and fröst

English

Frost on a leaf and grass.
Close-up look at frost crystals.

Noun

frost ‎(countable and uncountable, plural frosts)

  1. 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.
    • 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;
  2. The cold weather that causes these ice crystals to form.
  3. (figuratively) Coldness or insensibility; severity or rigidity of character.
    • Sir Walter Scott
      It was one of those moments of intense feeling when the frost of the Scottish people melts like a snow-wreath.
  4. (obsolete) The act of freezing; the congelation of water or other liquid.

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

frost ‎(third-person singular simple present frosts, present participle frosting, simple past and past participle frosted)

  1. To get covered with frost.
  2. To coat something (e.g. a cake) with icing to resemble frost.
  3. To anger or annoy.
    I think the boss's decision frosted him, a bit.

Translations

Derived terms

Anagrams

Danish

Etymology

From Old Norse frost.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /frɔst/, [fʁ̥ʌsd̥]

Noun

frost c (singular definite frosten, not used in plural form)

  1. frost

Declension

References

Icelandic

Etymology

From Old Norse frost.

Pronunciation

  • Rhymes: -ɔst

Noun

frost n ‎(genitive singular frosts, nominative plural frost)

  1. frost

Declension

See also

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

From Old Norse frost.

Noun

frost m ‎(definite singular frosten)

  1. frost

Derived terms

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From Old Norse frost

Noun

frost m ‎(definite singular frosten)

  1. frost

Derived terms

Old English

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *frustą, *frustaz, akin to Old High German frost, Old Norse frost.

Noun

frost m

  1. frost

Descendants

Old High German

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *frustą, *frustaz, akin to Old English frost, Old Norse frost.

Noun

frost m

  1. frost

Descendants

Old Norse

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *frustą, *frustaz, akin to Old English frost, Old High German frost.

Noun

frost n

  1. frost

Descendants

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

Noun

frost c

  1. frost

Declension

Etymology

From Middle English frost, from Old English frost ‎(“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”), Icelandic frost ‎(“frost”), Latin pruīna ‎(“hoarfrost, frost, rime, snow”). Related to freeze.

Pronunciation

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