Freak
Pronunciation
- enPR: frÄ“k, IPA: /friËk/
- Rhymes: -iËk
Origin 1
From Middle English freke, freike ("a bold man, warrior, man, creature"), from Old English freca ("a bold man, warrior, hero"), from Proto-Germanic *frekô ("an active or eagre man, warrior, wolf"), from Proto-Germanic *frekaz ("active, bold, desirous, greedy"), from Proto-Indo-European *pereg-, *spereg- ("to shrug, be quick, twitch, splash, blast"). Cognate with Old Norse freki ("greedy or avaricious one, a wolf"), Old High German freh ("eager"), Old English frēcne ("dangerous, daring, courageous, bold").
Pronunciation
- enPR: frÄ“k, IPA: /friËk/
- Rhymes: -iËk
Origin 2
1560, "sudden change of mind, whim", of uncertain origin. Perhaps related to Old English frician ("to leap, dance"), or Middle English frek ("insolent, daring"), from Old English frec ("desirous, greedy, eager, bold, daring"), from Proto-Germanic *frekaz, *frakaz ("hard, efficient, greedy, bold, audacious"). Compare Old High German freh ("eager"), Old English frēcne ("dangerous, daring, courageous, bold").
Noun
freak
(plural freaks)- A sudden causeless change or turn of the mind; a whim of fancy; a capricious prank; a vagary or caprice.
- Someone or something that is markedly unusual.
- 1907, w, Before Adam, And I may answer with another question. Why is a two-headed calf? And my own answer to this is that it is a freak.
- 1920, Onnie Warren Smith, Casting tackle and methods, There may be good points about a freak reel, but because it is a freak it will stand little show of even a fair try-out
- 1938, Marian E. Baer, The wonders of water, It is a freak that people talk about when they see it. Not everyone calls it by the right name, and few people know how it gets to be what it is. This freak is hail.
- A hippie.
- A drug addict.
- (of a person) A nonconformist, especially in appearance, social behavior, sexual orientation, gender identity, and/or business practices; an oddball, especially in physiology (i.e., "circus freak"); unique, sometimes in a displeasing way.
- (bodybuilding) A person whose physique has grown far beyond the normal limits of muscular development; often a bodybuilder weighing more than 120 kilos (260 pounds).
- An enthusiast, or person who has an obsession with, or extreme knowledge of, something.Bob's a real video-game freak. He owns every games console of the last ten years.
- (informal, sometimes affectionate) A very sexually perverse individual.She's a freak in the sack!
Derived terms
Verb
- (transitive) To make greatly distressed and/or a discomposed appearance
- 1994, James Earl Hardy, B-Boy Blues: A Seriously Sexy, Fiercely Funny, Black-On-Black Love Story, (Alyson Publishing), page 107But after one night turned into five days, I was freaking out. I missed him.
- (transitive) To be placed or place someone under the influence of a psychedelic drug
- 1992, Peter G. Stafford, Psychedelics Encyclopedia, (Ronin Publishing), page 56... Harvard have compiled a list of LSD's contributions—largely missing before then—to our popular language: turned on, straight, freak, freaked out, stoned, ...
- (transitive) To streak; to variegate
- 1930, Robert Seymour Bridges, The Testament of Beauty: A Poem in Four Books, (Literary Criticism), page 20... in fine diaper of silver and mother-of-pearl freaking the intense azure; Now scurrying close overhead, wild ink-hued random racers that fling sheeted ...
- ThomsonFreaked with many a mingled hue.
- (intransitive) To experience reality withdrawal, or hallucinations (nightmarish), to behave irrational or unconventional due to drug use.
- (intransitive) To react extremely or irrationally, usually under distress or discomposure
Derived terms
Adjective
freak
- strange, weird
- 2011, April 15, Saj Chowdhury, Norwich 2 - 1 Nott'm Forest, A freak goal gave Forest the lead when a clearance by keeper John Ruddy bounced off Nathan Tyson and flew in.