frock
pronunciation
How to pronounce frock in British English:
UK [frɒk]
How to pronounce frock in American English:
US [frɑk]
-
- Noun:
- a one-piece garment for a woman; has skirt and bodice
-
- Verb:
- put a frock on
Word Origin
- frock
- frock: [14] Frock is a Germanic word, although English acquired it via Old French froc. It originally meant ‘long coat or tunic’ – a sense reflected in the related Old High German hroc ‘mantle, coat’, and preserved in English frock coat and unfrock ‘dismiss from the office of clergyman’ (frock once having denoted a ‘priest’s cassock’, and hence symbolized the priestly office). Its application to a ‘woman’s dress’ dates from the 16th century.
- frock (n.)
- mid-14c., from Old French froc "a monk's habit; clothing, dress" (12c.), which is of unknown origin; perhaps from Frankish *hrok or some other Germanic source (compare Old High German hroc "mantle, coat;" Old Norse rokkr, Old English rocc, Old Frisian rokk, German Rock "a coat, over-garment"). Another theory traces it to an alteration of Medieval Latin floccus, from Latin floccus "flock of wool." Meaning "outer garment for women or children" is from 1530s. Frock-coat attested by 1819.
Example
- 1. I retired that frock 10 years ago ; I still miss it .
- 2. He remains quiet , reflective , almost indifferent to the girl ( although he buys her a pretty frock ) .
- 3. So some buy a fancy frock , dance the night away in it and then return it to the store , pretending that it does not fit .