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frazzle

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fraz⋅zle

  [fraz-uhl] verb, -zled, -zling, noun Informal.
Use frazzle in a Sentence
–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.
Origin:
1815–25; b. fray 2 and fazzle, ME faselin to unravel, c. G faseln
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Frazzle
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www.best-price.com/Frazzle
Frizzle at Amazon
Millions of titles, new & used. Qualified orders over $25 ship free
Amazon.com/books
fraz·zle   (frāz'əl)   
v.   fraz·zled, fraz·zling, fraz·zles

v.   tr.

  1. To wear away along the edges; fray.

  2. To exhaust physically or emotionally.

v.   intr.

  1. To become worn away along the edges.

  2. To become exhausted physically or emotionally.

n.  

  1. A frayed or tattered condition.

  2. A condition of exhaustion: worked themselves to a frazzle.


[Perhaps a blend of fray2 and dialectal fazzle, to unravel (from Middle English facelyn, to fray, from fasel, frayed edge, probably diminutive of fas, rootlets, from Old English fæs).]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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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.).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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