English
frounce
Frounce comes from Middle French froncer, from Frankish *hrunkiju ‘a wrinkle’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- ‘to turn, bend’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)ker-‘to turn, bend’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*hrunkijōreconstructed
- Frankishc. 250–700*hrunkiju‘a wrinkle’reconstructed
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400froncir
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600froncer
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500frouncen‘to crease or wrinkle’
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1503–1512frounce
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)ker-‘to turn, bend’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*hrunkijōreconstructed
- Frankishc. 250–700*hrunkiju‘a wrinkle’reconstructed
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400froncir
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600froncer
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500frouncen‘to crease or wrinkle’
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1503–1512frounce
Earliest quotation: c. 1503–1512, John Skelton, Ware the Hauke; republished in John Scattergood: “The hawke had no lyst To come to his…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- ‘to turn, bend’
short, share, card, across, screen, score, cross, shirt, circle, cancer, circuit, crucial, curve, scare, circus, circulation, skirt, carnival, curb, scar, scrutiny, shrine, crest, circa, cancellation, shear, scorpion, shred, carnage, coronary, corona, raffle, circulate, carcinoma, scorn, shrewd, incarceration, crux, shard, carnal, 118 more
through Proto-Germanic *hrunkijō
Today it means
noun A canker in the mouth of a hawk.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- / frounce