frothy 
scurrilous, tfcc., or at the best but//V/*t/, vaine, and frino- 
lous. /'riinne, 'Histrio-Mastix, I. iii. 1. 
Neal wrote from the surface of his mind, which was 
frotlui. Tlu Century, XXVI. 290. 
froting (fro'ting), n. [Also froatlny ; verbal 
n. offrote, v.] If. Rubbing. 2. Unremitting 
industry. [Prov. Eng.] 
frott6 (fro-ta'), . [F., rubbed, pp. of frotter, 
rub: see frote.] In art, a picture, or a part of 
a picture, executed by means of very slight 
and more or less transparent washes of color, 
as in producing hazy effects of atmosphere in 
landscape. 
I have pastel studies of skies which have been kept quite 
carelessly for twenty years, and do not seem the worse 
for friction, . . . but they are mere frottes for broad rela- 
tions of tint. P. G. Hamerton, Graphic Arts, p. 204, note. 
Frott4 d'or, in ceram., a kind of decoration in which 
gold is applied to the surface sparingly and in irregular 
patches or spots, as if the surface had been splashed or 
sprinkled with it. 
frottola (frot'o-la), . [It., a ballad, tale, 
Mother-Goose story. ] An Italian popular song, 
not so artistic as a madrigal nor so simple as 
a villanella, especially common in the sixteenth 
century. 
The frottola (literally a comic ditty) marks a step in ad- 
vance. Here types take the place of abstractions, and 
more characters than two are introduced ; we are, how- 
ever, still among dramatised dialogues rather than in 
view of dramatic action. 
A. W. Ward, Eng. Dram. Lit., I. 129. 
frou-frou (fro'fro), n. [F., intended as an imi- 
tation of a rustling sound.] A rustling, par- 
ticularly the rustling of silk, as in a woman's 
dress: as, the silken frou-frou of her move- 
ments. [This term has become familiarized to 
some extent in English from the translation of 
a popular French play so named.] 
The shine of jewels, the frou-frou of silks, the odor of 
roses, . . . the details one and all of the pretty picture 
which the hardened theater-goer fails to see because of 
its familiarity. 
Mail and Express (New York), Dec. 26, 1888. 
fraught, a. See /row 2 . 
frounce (frouns), v. ; pret. and pp. frounced, 
ppr. frouncing. [< ME. frouncen, frounsen = 
D. fronsen, fold, wrinkle,' < OF. froncer, fron- 
ser, frontier, fronchier, F. froncer, fold, gather, 
plait, wrinkle (fronser le front, knit the brow, 
frown), = Pr.froncir,fronzir = OSrj.froncir, Sp. 
fruncir = Pg. franzir, perhaps < ML. "frontiare 
(not found), < L. frons (front-), the forehead, 
front: see front. Hence, by variation, flounce^, 
q.v. Cf. frown.] I. trans. I. To fold or wrinkle. 
He . . . frounses bothe lyppe & browe. 
Sir Qawayne and the Green Knight (E. E. T. S.), 1. 2308. 
Frounced foule was hir visage. Sam. of the Rose, 1. 155. 
2. To curl or frizzle, as hair. 
Some frounce their curled heare in courtly guise. 
Spenser, F. Q., I. iv. 14. 
3. To adorn with fringes, frills, or other orna- 
ments of dress. 
A perriwig frouitc'd fast to the front, or curl'd with a 
bodkin. Greene, Against the Gentlewomen of Sicilia. 
Xot trick'd and frounc'd as she was wont. 
Milton, II Penseroso, 1. 123. 
II. intrans. To wrinkle the forehead; frown. 
The frount/roimsetA that was shene, 
The nese droppeth ofte bitwene. Cursor Mundi. 
On the other side, the Commons frounced and stormed. 
Holland, tr. of Livy, p. 821. 
[Obsolete or archaic in all uses.] 
frounce (frouns), . [< ME. frounce, a fold, < 
OF. fronce, fronche, frunche, F. fronce; from 
the verb. Hence, by variation, flounce^.] 1. 
A flounce, fold, plait, or frill, as of a garment ; 
a wrinkle; a crease. [Obsolete or archaic.] 
Thise wordes seide sche, and with the lappe of hii- gar- 
ment yplitid in & frounce sche driede myn eyen, that were 
ful of the wawes [waves] of my wepynges. 
Chaucer, Boethius, i. prose 2. 
"Who so toke hede," quod Haukyn, "byhyiide and bi- 
fore, 
What on bakke and what on bodyhalf and by the two 
sydes, 
Men sholdefynde runny frounces and many foule plottes." 
Fieri Plowman (B), xiii. 318. 
2. A disease in hawks in which white spittle 
gathers about the bill. 3. A disease in a 
horse's mouth in which a mass of pimples ap- 
pears on the palate ; the pimples themselves. 
frouncelesst (frouns'les), a. [ME./rowncefes; 
< frounce + -less.] Having no fold, wrinkle, 
or crease. 
Her flesh so tendre 
That with a brere smale and slendre 
'Men myght it cleve, I dare wel seye, 
Hir forheed/r<mrac;es al pleye. 
Rom. of the Hose, 1. 860. 
frouncing (froun'sing), n. The art or act of 
plaiting, frilling, or curling. [Archaic.] 
2392 
The milliners three or four hundred years ago must 
have been more accomplished in the arts, as Prynne calls 
them, of crisping, curling, frizzling, and frouncin<r, than 
all the tirewomen of Babylon. Walpole, Letters, II, 464. 
frountt, An obsolete form of front. 
frountert, An earlier form of frontier. 
A garnyson she was of alle goodnesse 
To make afrounter for a louer-is herte. 
Political Poems, etc. (ed. Furnivall), p. 67. 
frouzy, a. See frowzy. 
frow 1 (fro), n. [Formerly also written/ro./roe ; 
frequent in Elizabethan plays in which Dutch 
characters figure; < MD. vrouwe, D. vrouw, a 
woman, wife, lady, mistress, = OS. frua (?) 
= OFries. frowe, frouwe = OLG. fru, MLG. 
vrouwe, LG. frouiv, frauw (cf. Icel. fru, older 
frauva-frouva, frou = Sw. fru = ODau. fruve, 
friige, Dan. frue, a lady, mistress ; these Scand. 
forms, and prob. ult. the LG. forms, are of HG. 
origin, the proper Icel. form being freyja, in 
comp. hus-freyja, housewife, lady, mistress, 
otherwise only as the name of a goddess, 
Freyja) = OHG. frouwa, MHG. vrouwe, G. /raw, 
a woman, lady, mistress (L. domina) ; in mod. 
use, when prefixed to a proper name, the reg. 
equiv. of E. Mrs. ; fern, of OHG./ro, lord(only in 
voc., in addressing Christ or an angel, ' Lord '), 
MHG. vro (in comp.), lord, Lord, = OS. fraho, 
froho, frojo = AS. fred, lord, Lord (only in po- 
etry), = Goth, frauja, lord, = Icel. Freyr, the 
name of a god (corresponding to Freyja, f., 
above).] 1. A woman; a wife, especially a 
Dutch or German one. [Colloq.] 2. [Cf. 
frowzy, 1.] A slovenly woman; a wench; a 
lusty woman. [Obsolete or prov. Eng.] 
I have had late intelligence, they are now 
Buxom as Bacchus' froes, revelling, dancing, 
Telling the music's numbers with their feet. 
Beau, and Fl., Wit at Several Weapons, v. 1. 
frow 2 (frou), a. [E. dial., also frough ; = Sc. 
freuch, frewch, frooch; appar. < ME. from, 
frough, frogh, frouh, froug, brittle, tender, 
fickle, loose, slack, perhaps the same, with de- 
flected sense, as MD. vro, vroo = OFries. fro = 
OS. fra = MLG. vro = OHG. frao, fro (fraw-), 
G. froh, etc., merry, jovial, gay, glad, etc.: see 
frolic."] Brittle; tender; crisp. [Prov. Eng.] 
And now thi leek ysowen is to 86. 
To make hem frouyh ky tte of the blades longe 
Right as thai growyng belli. 
Palladium, Husbondrie (E. E. T. S.), p. 84. 
That [timber] which grows in gravel is subject to be 
frow (as they term it) and brittle. Evelyn. 
frow 3 (fro), n. [Origin obscure ; perhaps < 
/row 2 .] Among London bakers, potato-flour 
used to assist fermentation in dough and im- 
prove the appearance of bread. 
frow 4 (fro), n. [Origin obscure.] A cleaving- 
tool having a wedge-shaped blade, with a han- 
dle set at right angles to the 
length of the blade, used in 
spotting staves for casks and 
the like. It is driven by a 
mallet. Also froe and frower. 
Hash, . . . with froe in one hand 
and mallet in the other, by dint of 
frowning 
And albeit they frowardly mayntayne that the laitee 
ought to receue both kyndes. Sir T. More, Works, p. 1383. 
What line foolery is this in a woman, 
To use those men most frowardly they love most? 
Beau, and Fl., Scornful Lady, iv. 1. 
Fortune seems them frowardly to cross. 
Drayto'ii, Barons' Wars, i. 
frowardness (fro' ward -lies), n. [< ME. fro- 
wardnesse,fraicardnes; (. froward + -ness.] The 
quality or state of being froward ; perverseness ; 
wilfuluess; obstinacy; petulance; peevishness. 
That me rewithe score, 
That evir I knewhe hym for Usfrowardnesse. 
Lydgate, Minor Poems, p. 145. 
How many frowardnesses of ours does he smother ! how 
many indignities does he pass by ! South, Works, II. ii. 
The lighter sort of malignitie turneth but to a crossness 
or frowardness. Bacon. 
ness of peevish children, who, when they cannot get all 
they would have, are resolved to tale nothing. 
Burke, Conciliation with America. 
frower (fro'er), n. Same as frow*. 
frowey, a. See frowy. 
frowingt.a. [< /row 2 + -ing*. Cf. frowy.] Ren- 
dering rank or coarse. 
Gather not roses in a wet and frowauj houre, they'll 
lose their sweets then, trust nice they will, sir. 
Suckling, Aglaura. 
frowisht.n. [</row2 + -w*i. Cf. frowy.] Rank 
or rancid. Nares. 
He that is ranck orfrowish in savour, hircosus. 
Withali, Diet. (ed. 1608), p. 286. 
frown (froun), v. [< ME. frownen, frounen, 
frown, appar. < OF. *frogner, in comp. refrongner, 
renfrongner, refl., frown, lower, F. se refrogner, 
frown. Cf. It. infrigno, wrinkled, frowning, 
dial, frignare, whimper, make a wry face ; prob. , 
like E. dial, frine, q. v., of Scand. origin. The 
form and sense, in E. and F., appear to have 
been affected by those of frounce, q. v.] I. in- 
trans. 1. To contract the brow as an expression 
of displeasure or severity, or merely of perplex- 
ity, concentrated attention, etc. ; put on a stern 
or surly look ; scowl. 
Whan the princes vndirstode the wordes of sir Gawein, 
1 
I 
smart percussion is endeavoring to ^^nKm^. 
rive a three-cornered billet of hem- iSES 1 
lock. S. Judd, Margaret, i. 17. 
froward (fro'wiird), a. [< 
ME. froward, fraward, turn- 
ed against, perverse, disobedient, prep, away 
from ; northern form of frontward, q. v. ; ef . 
fromd. from.] If. Turned away; turnedfrom: 
opposed to facing, 
So [youthe] is froward from sadnesse. 
Rom. of the Rose, 1. 1940. 
And eeke them selves so in their daunce they bore, 
That two of them still froward seem'd to bee, 
But one still towards shew'd her selfe afore. 
Spenser, F. Q., VI. x. 24. 
2. Perversely inclined ; wilful ; refractory ; dis- 
obedient; petulant; peevish. 
How may this be that thou art froward 
To hooly chirche to pay thy dewtee ? 
Lydgate, Minor Poems, p. 141. 
They are a very froward generation, children in whom 
is no faith. Deut. xxxii. 20. 
Rocking froward children in cradles. Sir W. Temple. 
From infancy through childhood's giddy maze, 
Froward at school, and fretful in his plays. 
Cowper, Hope, 1. 188. 
3. Marked by or manifesting perverse feeling; 
ill-natured; ungracious; caustic. 
A froward retention of custom is as turbulent a thing 
as an innovation. Bacon, Innovations (ed. 1887). 
frowardly ( fro' ward -Ii), adv. In a froward 
manner; perversely; wilfully; disobediently. 
MerKn (E. E. T. S.), iii. 660. 
Hang'd in thefroivning wrinkle of her brow. 
Shale., K. John, ii. 2. 
2. To look or act disapprovingly or threaten- 
ingly; lower: as, to frown upon a scheme. 
The sun will not be seen to-day ; 
The sky doth frown and lour upon our army. 
Shak., Rich. III., v. 3. 
Friendship failes when fortune list tofrourne. 
Gascoigne, Fruit of Fetters. 
A small castle frowns on the hill above the station. 
E. A. Freeman, Venice, p. 58. 
H. trans. To repress or repel by an aspect 
of displeasure ; rebuke by a stern or angry look 
or by severe words or conduct : as, to frown one 
into silence ; to frown down a proposition. 
frown (froun), n. [< frown, v. t.] 1. A con- 
traction or wrinkling of the brow expressing 
displeasure or seventy, or merely perplexity, 
difficult concentration of thought, etc. ; a se- 
vere or stern look ; a scowl. 
How dare you stop my valour's prize '! 
I'll kill thee with & frown. 
Robin Hood and the Stranger (Child's Ballads, V. 414). 
The Almighty Thunderer with a frown replies, 
That clouds the world and blackens half the skies. 
Pope, Iliad, viii. 
2. Any expression or show of disapproval or 
displeasure : as, the frowns of Providence. 
You wrong the prince ; I gave you not this freedom 
To brave our best friends ; you deserve our frown. 
Beau, and Fl., Philaster, i. 1. 
He [Warren Hastings] knew in what abundance accusa- 
tions are certain to flow in against the most innocent in- 
habitant of India who is under the frown of power. 
Macaulay, Warren Hastings. 
frowner (frou'ner), n. One who frowns or 
scowls. 
Those bearded Sages poring o'er their book ; 
That meek old Priest with placid face of joy, 
That Pharisaic frowner at the Boy. 
Byrom, Christ among the Doctors. 
Some persons are such habitual frowners that the mere 
effort of speaking almost always causes their brows to con- 
tract. Darwin, Express, of Emotions, p. 223. 
frownful (froun'ful), a. [< frown + -ful.] 
Frowning; scowling. [Rare.] 
Like thy fair offspring, misapply'd, 
Far other purpose they supply ; 
The murderer's burning cheek to hide, 
And on hiafrou'nful temples die. 
Langhorne, The Laurel and the Reed. 
(frou'ning), n. [Verbal n. of frown, 
.] Expression of displeasure ; angry or sullen 
aspect. 
