frank
/fɹæŋk/ adjective, noun, verb, proper noun
Also a form of franc
Forms franker frankest franks franking franked
- adjective Honest, especially in a manner that seems slightly blunt; candid; not reserved or disguised. “May I be frank with you?”
- adjective (medicine) Unmistakable, clinically obvious, self-evident. “The research probes whether treating pre-diabetes with metformin can prevent progression to frank diabetes.”
- adjective (obsolete) Unbounded by restrictions, limitations, etc.; free.
- adjective (obsolete) Liberal; generous; profuse.
- adjective (obsolete, derogatory) Unrestrained; loose; licentious.
- noun Free postage, a right exercised by governments (usually with definite article).
- noun The notice on an envelope where a stamp would normally be found.
- verb (transitive) To place a frank on an envelope.
- verb (transitive) To exempt from charge for postage, as a letter, package, or packet, etc.
- verb (transitive) To send by public conveyance free of expense.
- noun A hot dog or sausage. “Buy a package of franks for the barbecue.”
- noun (UK) The grey heron.
- noun A pigsty.
- verb To shut up in a frank or sty; to pen up; hence, to cram; to fatten.
- noun One of the Franks, a Germanic federation that inhabited parts of what are now France, the Low Countries and Germany.
- noun (puristic) Frenchman.
- proper noun A male given name from the Germanic languages.
- proper noun A diminutive of the male given name Francis.
- proper noun A surname transferred from the nickname.
- proper noun A community in Crowsnest Pass municipality, south-west Alberta, Canada.
Synonyms
unreserved undisguised free-spoken frankfurt frankfurter hotdog hot dog dog wiener wienerwurst weenie postmark blunt candid forthright outspoken plainspoken point-blank straight-from-the-shoulder
Etymology
From Middle English frank, from Old French franc (“free”), in turn from the name of an early Germanic confederation, the Franks, from Proto-West Germanic *frankō (“javelin, spear”). Doublet of Frank, franc, and farang.
Clipping of frankfurter.
From Old French franc.
From French franc.
Webster’s 1913
- noun A pigsty. [Obs.]
- verb To shut up in a frank or sty; to pen up; hence, to cram; to fatten. [Obs.] Shak.
- noun The common heron; --so called from its note. [Prov. Eng.]
- adjective Unbounded by restrictions, limitations, etc.; free. [R.] "It is of frank gift." Spenser.
Etymology [OF. franc.]
Etymology [F. franc free, frank, L. Francus a Frank, fr. OHG. Franko the name of a Germanic people on the Rhine, who afterward founded the French monarchy; cf. AS. franca javelin, Icel. frakka. Cf. Franc, French, a., Franchise, n.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “frank”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details