frou-frou (n.)

1870, "a rustling," from French (19c.), possibly imitative of the rustling of a dress. The word was popularized in English by a French play translated and given that name. Meaning "fussy details" is from 1876.

also from 1870

Entries linking to frou-frou

chi-chi (adj.)

also chichi, "extremely chic, sophisticated," also, as a noun, "pretentious fussiness," 1908, from French chichi "airs, fuss." Perhaps, like frou-frou, imitative.

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adapted from books.google.com/ngrams/. Ngrams are probably unreliable.

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cantankerous

"marked by ill-tempered contradiction or opposition," 1772, said by Grose to be "a Wiltshire word," conjectured to be from an alteration (influenced perhaps by raucous) of a dialectal survival of Middle English contakour "troublemaker" (c. 1300), which is from Anglo-French contec

demure

late 14c. (early 14c. as an Anglo-French surname), "calm, settled;" of persons, "sober, grave, serious," from an Anglo-French extended form of Old French meur "mature, fully grown, ripe," hence "discreet" (Modern French mûr), from Latin maturus "mature" (see mature (v.)). The de-

stool pigeon

"police informer," 1859, American English; earlier "one who betrays the unwary (or is used to betray them)," 1821, earlier "a decoy bird" (1812), from a stool as the movable pole or perch to which a pigeon was fastened to lure wild birds. Perhaps a stool was the original device,

etiquette

1750, from French étiquette "prescribed behavior," from Old French estiquette "label, ticket" (see ticket (n.)). The sense development in French perhaps is from small cards written or printed with instructions for how to behave properly at court (compare Italian etichetta, Spanis

community

late 14c., "a number of people associated together by the fact of residence in the same locality," also "the common people" (not the rulers or the clergy), from Old French comunité "community, commonness, everybody" (Modern French communauté), from Latin communitatem (nominative

canteen

1744 (in a recollection from c. 1710), "store in a military camp," from French cantine "sutler's shop" (17c.), from Italian cantina "wine cellar, vault," diminutive of canto "a side, corner, angle." Thus it is perhaps another descendant of the many meanings that were attached to

protocol

mid-15c., prothogol, "prologue;" 1540s, prothogall, "draft of a document, minutes of a transaction or negotiation, original of any writing" (senses now obsolete), from French prothocole (c. 1200, Modern French protocole), from Medieval Latin protocollum "draft," literally "the fi

fashion

c. 1300, fasoun, "physical make-up or composition; form, shape; appearance," from Old French façon, fachon, fazon "face, appearance; construction, pattern, design; thing done; beauty; manner, characteristic feature" (12c.), from Latin factionem (nominative factio) "a making or do

tarot

1590s, from French tarot (16c.), from Old Italian tarocchi (singular tarocco), a word of unknown origin, perhaps from Arabic taraha "he rejected, put aside." Originally an everyday game deck in much of Europe (though not in Britain), their occult and fortune-telling use seems to

Deuteronomy

5th book of the Pentateuch, late 14c., Deutronomye (Wycliffe), from Late Latin Deuteronomium, from Ecclesiastical Greek Deuteronomion, literally "second law," from deuteros "second" (see deutero-) + nomos "law" (from PIE root *nem- "assign, allot; take"). A mistranslation of Hebr

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updated on October 10, 2017

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Dictionary entries near frou-frou

frosting

frosty

froth

frothy

frottage

frou-frou

frounce

frow

froward

frown

frowsty