frock
UK /fɹɒk/ · US /fɹɑk/ noun, verb, proper noun
Forms frocks frocking frocked
- noun A dress, a piece of clothing, which consists of a skirt and a cover for the upper body.
- noun An outer garment worn by priests and other clericals; a habit.
- noun A sailor's jersey.
- noun An undress regimental coat.
- verb (transitive) To clothe (somebody) in a frock.
- verb (transitive) To make (somebody) a cleric.
- verb (US military, transitive) To grant to an officer the title and uniform of a rank he will soon be promoted to.
- noun (dialectal) A frog.
- proper noun A surname.
Synonyms
Etymology
From Middle English frok, frokke, from Old French froc (“frock, a monk's gown or habit”), perhaps via Medieval Latin hrocus, roccus, rocus (“a coat”), from Frankish *hrokk (“skirt, dress, robe”), from Proto-Germanic *hrukkaz (“robe, jacket, skirt, tunic”), from Proto-Indo-European *kreḱ- (“to weave”).
Cognate with Old High German hroch, roch (“skirt, dress, cowl”) – whence German Rock (“skirt, coat”) –, Saterland Frisian Rok (“skirt”), Dutch rok (“skirt, petticoat”), Old English rocc (“an overgarment, tunic, rochet”), Old Norse rokkr (“skirt, jacket”), whence Danish rok (“garment”).
From Middle English frock, froke, from Old Norse frauki (“frog”), related to Old English frocga (“frog”). More at frog.
Webster’s 1913
- noun A loose outer garment; especially, a gown forming a part of European modern costume for women and children; also, a coarse hirtlike garment worn by some workmen over their ther clothes; a smock frock; as, a marketman's frock.
- noun A coarse gown worn by monks or friars, and supposed to take the place of all, or nearly all, other garments. It has a hood which can be drawn over the head at pleasure, and is girded by a cord. Frock coat, a body coat for men, usually doublebreasted, the skirts not being in one piece with the body, but sewed on so as to be somewhat full.
- verb To clothe in a frock.
- verb To make a monk of. Cf. Unfrock.
Etymology [F. froc a monk's cowl, coat, garment, LL. frocus, froccus, flocus, floccus, fr. L. floccus a flock of wool; hence orig., a flocky cloth or garment;cf. L. flaccus flabby, E. flaccid.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “frock”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details