Etymograph

English

freke

Freke comes from Middle English freke ‘a bold man, warrior, man, creature’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *preg- ‘to shrug, be quick, twitch, splash, blast’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*preg-‘to shrug, be quick, twitch, splash, blast’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*frekô‘an active or eagre man, warrior, wolf’reconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150freca‘a bold man, warrior, hero’
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500freke‘a bold man, warrior, man, creature’
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1225same form

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*preg-‘to shrug, be quick, twitch, splash, blast’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*frekô‘an active or eagre man, warrior, wolf’reconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150freca‘a bold man, warrior, hero’
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500freke‘a bold man, warrior, man, creature’
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1225same form

Earliest quotation: 1225, St. Katherine of Alexandria:: “þes fifti, alle ferliche freken.”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *preg- ‘to shrug, be quick, twitch, splash, blast’

fresh, 1 more

through Middle English freke ‘a bold man, warrior, man, creature’

freak

Today it means

noun A brave man, a warrior, a man-at-arms.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *preg- / freke

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