Definify.com
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 acidWhile 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.