Frog

Pronunciation

• UK IPA: /frÉ’É¡/
• Rhymes: -É’É¡
• US IPA: /frÉ‘É¡/, /frɔɡ/
• Rhymes: -É’É¡, -ɔːɡ

From Middle English frogge, from Old English frogga, frocga ("frog"), from Proto-Germanic *fruþgô ("frog"), a pet-form of Proto-Germanic *fruþ-, *frauþaz ("frog"), deverbative of Proto-Indo-European *prew- ("to jump, hop"). Cognate with Old Norse frauki ("frog"), Sanskrit प्लव (plava), प्लवक (plavaka, "frog"), Lithuanian sprūgti ("to leave, escape"), Russian прыгнуть (prýgnutĭ, "to leap"), прыгать (prýgatĭ, "to jump around"), Albanian fryj ("to blow")).

J.P. Mallory & D.Q. Adams, eds, Encyclopedia of Indo-European Culture, s.v. "Jump" (London: Fitzroy Dearborn, 1997), 323.

See also frosh, frosk.

Noun

1. A small tailless amphibian of the order Anura that typically hops
2. The part of a violin bow (or that of other similar string instruments such as the viola, cello and contrabass) located at the end held by the player, to which the horsehair is attached
3. (Cockney rhyming slang) Road. Shorter, more common form of frog and toad
4. The depression in the upper face of a pressed or handmade clay brick
5. An organ on the bottom of a horse’s hoof that assists in the circulation of blood
6. The part of a railway switch or turnout where the running-rails cross (from the resemblance to the frog in a horse’s hoof)
7. An oblong cloak button, covered with netted thread, and fastening into a loop instead of a button hole.
8. The loop of the scabbard of a bayonet or sword.

Synonyms

• (amphibian: frog) frosh, frosk, frock
• (amphibian: frog or toad) pad, paddock
• (railway switch component) common crossing

Derived terms

Full definition of frog

Verb

1. To hunt or trap frogs.
2. (transitive, biology) To use a pronged plater to transfer (cells) to another plate.

Derived terms

• frog stitch

From frog legs, stereotypical food of the French. Compare rosbif ("English person"), from roast beef, corresponding French term for English, likewise based on stereotypical food.

Noun

1. (offensive) A French person
2. (Canada, offensive) A French-speaking person from Quebec

Antonyms

• (French person) rosbif of an English, by French

Unknown. Possibly from Portuguese froco ("flock"), from Latin floccus ("flock").

Noun

1. A leather or fabric loop used to attach a sword or bayonet, or its scabbard, to a waist or shoulder belt
2. An ornate fastener for clothing consisting of a button, toggle, or knot, that fits through a loop

Verb

1. To ornament or fasten a coat, etc. with frogs

Supposedly from ribbit ("sound made by a frog") sounding similar to "rip it".

Verb

1. (transitive) To unravel (a knitted garment).