frog

frog · noun, verb¹

1. Ancient Greek · calque ofβάτραχος
2. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*froggō“frog”
3. Old English · inherited fromfrocga
4. Middle English · inherited fromfrogge
5. English todayfrog

From Middle English frogge, from Old English frocga, from Proto-West Germanic *froggō (“frog”). Cognate with Old Norse frauki, and Old English frox, frosc, whence Modern English frosh and frosk (“frog”). Possibly related to Saterland Frisian Poage (“frog”), German Low German Pogg, Pogge (“frog”). Sense 5 (organ on a horse's hoof) is a calque of Ancient Greek βάτραχος (bátrakhos).

frog · noun²

From frog legs, stereotypical food of the French. Compare Kraut (“German person”) and French rosbif (“English person”) (from roast beef), with similar food etymologies.

frog · noun, verb³

1. Latin · derived fromfloccus“flock”
2. Portuguese · borrowed fromfroco“flock”
3. English todayfrog

Unknown. Possibly borrowed from Portuguese froco (“flock”), from Latin floccus (“flock”).

frog · verb⁴

Supposedly from ribbit (“sound made by a frog”) sounding similar to “rip it”.

frog · verb⁵

Probably a minced oath alteration of fuck.

Words from the same roots