freak

freak
freak (n.) 1560s, "sudden turn of mind," of unknown origin, perhaps related to O.E. frician "to dance" (not recorded in M.E., but the word may have survived in dialect) [OED, Barnhart], or perhaps from M.E. frek "bold, quickly," from O.E. frec "greedy, gluttonous" (Cf. Ger. frech "bold, impudent"). Sense of "capricious notion" (1560s) and "unusual thing, fancy" (1784) preceded that of "strange or abnormal individual" (first in freak of nature, 1847; Cf. L. lusus naturæ, used in English from 1660s). The sense in health freak, ecology freak, etc. is attested from 1908 (originally Kodak freak, a camera buff). Freak show attested from 1887. The verb meaning "change, distort" goes back to 1911. Earlier, "to streak or fleck randomly" (1630s).

Etymology dictionary. 2014.

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  • freak — freak …   Dictionnaire des rimes

  • Freak — Freak …   Deutsch Wörterbuch

  • freak — [ frik ] n. • 1966; mot angl. amér. « monstre » ♦ Anglic. Jeune refusant les valeurs de la société bourgeoise sans pour autant appartenir à un mouvement. Spécialt Toxicomane qui consomme des drogues dures. ⊗ HOM. Fric. ● freak nom masculin… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • freak — freak·ish; freak; freak·ery; freak·i·ness; freak·ing; freak·ish·ly; freak·ish·ness; …   English syllables

  • freak — freak1 [frēk] n. [Early ModE < ? OE frician, to dance (> ME freking, whim, capricious conduct)] 1. a) a sudden fancy; odd notion; whim b) an odd or unusual happening 2. any abnormal animal, person, or plant; monstrosity ☆ 3. Slang …   English World dictionary

  • freak|y — «FREE kee», adjective. freak|i|er, freak|i|est, noun, plural freak|ies. –adj. 1. = freakish. (Cf. ↑freakish) …   Useful english dictionary

  • Freak — Freak, v. i. 1. to react with irrationality or extreme emotion; to lose one s composure; often used in the phrase {freak out}. [PJC] 2. to become irrational or to experience hallucinations under the influence of drugs; often used in the phrase… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Freak — Freak, n. [Prob. from OE. frek bold, AS. frec bold, greedly; akin to OHG. freh greedly, G. frech insolent, Icel. frekr greedy, Goth. fa[ i]hufriks avaricious.] 1. A sudden causeless change or turn of the mind; a whim of fancy; a capricious prank; …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • freak — s.m. e f.inv. ES ingl. {{wmetafile0}} appartenente a un movimento giovanile degli anni Settanta che esprimeva il distacco critico dalla società attraverso un abbigliamento stravagante e un comportamento individualista e anticonvenzionale; anche… …   Dizionario italiano

  • freak — [n1] something, someone very abnormal aberration, abortion, anomaly, chimera, curiosity, geek*, grotesque, malformation, miscreation, misshape, monster, monstrosity, mutant, mutation, oddity, queer, rarity, sport, weirdo*; concepts 424,580 Ant.… …   New thesaurus

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