English
frost
Frost comes from Middle English frost ‘Cold or freezing weather’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *prews-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*prews-‘to freeze’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*prustósreconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*frustazreconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*frostreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150frost
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500same form‘Cold or freezing weather’
- Englishearliest quotation 1611same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*prews-‘to freeze’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*prustósreconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*frustazreconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*frostreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150frost
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500same form‘Cold or freezing weather’
- Englishearliest quotation 1611same form
Earliest quotation: 1611, The Holy Bible, London: […] Robert Barker: “Thus I was; in the day the drought consumed…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *prews- ‘to freeze’
Today it means
noun 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.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *prews- / frost