Etymology

frolic

frol·ic
F4R1O1L1I1C3

Today it means: Merry, joyous, full of mirth; later especially, frolicsome, sportive, full of playful mischief. Full definition →

First used 1530sDutch vrolijk ← Middle Dutch vrolijc ← Old Dutch frōlīk
Ask AI about its historyChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

The story

  1. Proto-Germanic · derived from*frawaz
  2. Proto-Germanic · derived from*frawalīkaz
  3. Old Dutch · derived fromfrōlīk
  4. Middle Dutch · derived fromvrolijc
  5. Dutch · derived fromvrolijk“cheerful”
  6. English todayfrolic

From Dutch vrolijk (“cheerful”), from Middle Dutch vrolijc, from Old Dutch frōlīk, from Proto-Germanic *frawalīkaz. Compare German fröhlich (“blitheful, gaily, happy, merry”). The first element, ultimately from Proto-Germanic *frawaz, is cognate with Middle English frow (“hasty”); the latter element, ultimately from *-līkaz, is cognate with -ly, -like.

First known use, by meaning

  • from 1530s Merry, joyous, full of mirth; later especially, frolicsome, sportive, full of playful mischief.
  • from 1580s To make merry; to have fun; to romp; to behave playfully and uninhibitedly.
  • from 1610s Gaiety; merriment.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.