Meanings
Synonyms & antonyms
verbto eat without restraint; eat heartily
More synonyms by meaning
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Proto-Germanic*fraetaną“to eat up”
- Proto-West Germanic*fraetan
- Old High Germanfrëȥȥan“to eat up”
- Middle High Germanvrëȥȥen
- Yiddishפֿרעסן
- Germanfressen“to eat, devour, gobble”
- Englishfress
From German fressen (“to eat, devour, gobble”) and/or Yiddish פֿרעסן (fresn), both from Middle High German vrëȥȥen, from Old High German frëȥȥan (“to eat up”), from Proto-West Germanic *fraetan, from Proto-Germanic *fraetaną (“to eat up”), from *fra- (intensive and perfective prefix) + *etaną (“to eat”), equivalent to for- + eat. Cognate with Old English fretan (“to devour”). Doublet of fret.
More words from German, Yiddish, Middle High German
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
fress. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fress
“fress.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fress. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “fress,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fress.
Source: fress on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.