frazzle

[fraz-uhl] Origin

fraz·zle

[fraz-uhl] verb, fraz·zled, fraz·zling, noun Informal.
verb (used without object), verb (used with object)
1.
to wear to threads or shreds; fray.
2.
to weary; tire out: Those six eight-year-olds frazzled me.
noun
3.
the state of being frazzled or worn-out.
4.
a remnant; shred.

00:10

00:09

00:08

00:07

00:06

00:05

00:04

00:03

00:02

00:01

Frazzle is one of our favorite verbs.
So is bowdlerise. Does it mean:
to expurgate (a written work) by removing or modifying passages considered vulgar or objectionable.
to steal or take dishonestly (money, esp. public funds, or property entrusted to one's care); embezzle.

Origin:
1815–25; blend of fray2 and fazzle, Middle English faselin to unravel, cognate with German faseln
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To frazzle
Collins
World English Dictionary
frazzle (ˈfræzəl)
 
vb
1.  informal to make or become exhausted or weary; tire out
2.  a less common word for fray
 
n
3.  informal the state of being frazzled or exhausted
4.  a frayed end or remnant
5.  informal to a frazzle absolutely; completely (esp in the phrase burnt to a frazzle)
 
[C19: probably from Middle English faselen to fray, from fasel fringe; influenced by fray²]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

frazzle
c.1825, from E.Anglian variant of 17c. fasel "to unravel, fray" (like the end of a rope), from M.E. facelyn "to fray," from fasylle "fringe, frayed edge," dim. of O.E. fæs "fringe." Probably influenced in form by fray (v.). Related: Frazzled.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Dictionary.com, LLC. Copyright © 2012. All rights reserved.
  • Please Login or Sign Up to use the Recent Searches feature