frog
English
Pronunciation
Etymology 1
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 is a calque of Ancient Greek βάτραχος (bátrakhos).
Alternative forms
Noun
frog (plural frogs)
- Any of a class of small tailless amphibians of the order Anura that typically hop.
- 2008, Tom Martin, “Black Metal Sucks” (0:26 from the start), in Toxic Zombie Onslaught[1], performed by Lich King, San Jose: Stormspell Records:
- Awesome leather armbands with spikes like two feet long / Hair is parted down the middle, frowning like a frog
- (music) The part of a violin bow (or that of other similar string instruments such as the viola, cello and contrabass) located at the end held by the player, to which the horsehair is attached.
- (Cockney rhyming slang) Road. Shorter, more common form of frog and toad.
- The depression in the upper face of a pressed or handmade clay brick.
- An organ on the bottom of a horse’s hoof that assists in the circulation of blood.
- Coordinate term: sole
- (rail transport) The part of a railway switch or turnout where the running rails cross (from the resemblance to the frog in a horse’s hoof).
- Synonym: common crossing
- (rail transport) The part of a railroad overhead wire used to redirect a trolley pole from one wire to another at switches.
- (fishing) A type of fishing lure that resembles a frog.
- 1983, The Fisherman Who Laughed, page 40:
- `What you need are frogs,' said the veteran. `Fish them at night. There's nothing like them on big cork floats.'
- (politics, slang, derogatory, Malaysia) Defector: politician who switches to a different political party.
Derived terms
- African clawed frog
- African painted frog
- a frog in one's throat
- Amazon milk frog
- Archey's frog
- arrow-poison frog
- arum frog
- Atlantic Coast leopard frog
- Australian green tree frog
- Australian ground frogs (Myobatrachidae spp.)
- banana frog
- banjo frog
- bell frog
- big-eyed tree frog
- blue frog
- blue-sided leaf frog
- boiling frog
- brown frogs (Rana spp.)
- Budgett's frog
- bullfrog
- bush frog (Hyperoliidae spp.)
- Cambondo screeching frog
- carpenter frog (Lithobates virgatipes)
- Cascades frog (Rana cascadae)
- Catholic frog (Notaden bennettii)
- Charles Darwin's frog
- Chinese edible frog
- chirping frogs (Eleutherodactylus spp.)
- chorus frogs (Pseudacris spp.)
- clawed frogs, claw frogs (Xenopus spp.)
- common frog (Rana temporaria)
- coqui frog (Eleutherodactylus coqui)
- corroboree frog
- crab-eating frog
- crawfish frog (Lithobates areolatus)
- cricket frog (Acris spp.)
- Darwin's frog (Rhinoderma darwinii)
- defrog
- devil frog
- disc-tongued frog (Alytidae spp.)
- eastern banjo frog
- edible frog
- European common brown frog, European common frog (Rana temporaria)
- fine as frog hair, finer than frog hair
- fishing frog, fishing-frog (Lophius spp.)
- flying frog
- forest green tree frog
- frogamander
- frog belly
- frogbit (Hydrocharis morsus-ranae)
- frog-biting midge
- frog cheese
- frog chorus
- frog drum
- frogeater, frog eater, frog-eater
- frogeye
- frogeyed, frog-eyed
- frog-eye salad
- frog face
- frogfish (Antennariidae spp., Batrachoididae spp.)
- frog galvanoscope
- frog hair
- froghopper
- froghopper (Cercopoidea spp.)
- frog in a sock
- frog in a well
- frog in one's pocket
- frog in one's throat
- frog jump
- frog kick
- frog kingdom
- frog-legged beetle
- frog legs
- frog-like
- frog lily (Nuphar spp. or Potamogeton spp.)
- frogman
- frogmarch, frog-march, frog march
- frogmouth (Podargidae spp.)
- frog orchid (Coeloglossum viride)
- frogpole
- frogpond, frog pond
- frog pose
- frog's-bit
- frogsicle
- frogskin
- frog's legs
- frogsome
- frogspawn, frog spawn
- frog speak, frog-speak
- frog spit
- frog spittle
- frog sticker
- frogstool
- frog-strangler
- frog view
- frog-walk
- frog wedding
- fro yo frog
- Gaboon forest frog (Scotobleps gabonicus)
- Gardiner's Seychelles frog
- ghost frog (Heleophrynidae spp.)
- giant banjo frog
- giant frog
- glass frog (Centrolenidae spp.)
- goliath frog
- gopher frog (Lithobates capito)
- grass frog
- green big-eyed tree frog
- green frog (Lithobates clamitans)
- greenhouse frog (Eleutherodactylus planirostris)
- green tree frog
- hairy frog
- have a frog in one's throat
- hip pocket frog
- holy cross frog
- horned frog
- Hula painted frog
- ice frog (Amietia vertebralis)
- Kermit the Frog
- Lake Titicaca frog
- leaf frog
- leapfrogged, leap-frogged
- leapfrogging
- leap frog, leapfrog, leap-frog
- leapfrog test, leap-frog test, leap frog test
- leopard frogs (Lithobates spp.)
- litter frog (Megophryidae spp.)
- long-fingered frog
- Malabar flying frog
- male frog test
- marbled frog
- marsh frog (Pelophylax ridibundus)
- marsupial frog (Amphignathodontidae spp.)
- Mashpi glass frog
- midwife frog
- mink frog (Lithobates septentrionalis)
- mist frog
- mistfrog
- moss frog (Rhacophoridae spp.)
- music frog
- Myers' poison frog
- narrow-mouthed frogs (Microhylidae spp.)
- New Jersey chorus frog
- night frog
- orange-thighed frog
- Pacman frog
- painted frog (Alytidae spp.)
- paradoxical frog
- parsley frog (Pelodytidae spp.)
- pickerel frog (Lithobates palustris)
- pig frog (Lithobates grylio)
- poison arrow frog
- poison dart frogs (Dendrobates spp.)
- pool frog (Pelophylax lessonae)
- rain frog (Eleutherodactylus spp.)
- red-legged frogs (Rana spp.)
- river frog (Lithobates heckscheri)
- robber frog (Craugastor raniformis)
- sandhill frog
- Santander poison frog
- screeching frogs (Arthroleptidae spp.)
- scrotum frog
- sedge frog (Hyperoliidae spp.)
- Seychelles frog (Sooglossus sechellensis)
- shad frog
- sheep frogs (Hypopachus spp.)
- shovelnose frog (Hemisus spp.)
- shrinking frog
- shrub frog
- smoky jungle frog
- snouted frog
- southern banjo frog
- spot-legged poison frog
- spotted chirping frog
- squashed frog
- squirrel frog, squirrel tree frog (Dryophytes squirellus
- step on a frog
- stick frog, stick-frog
- tailed frog (Ascaphus spp.)
- tapir frog
- Tarahumara frog (Lithobates tarahumarae)
- temple tree frog
- Titicaca frog, Titicaca water frog
- tomato frog
- tongueless frogs (Pipidae spp.)
- tree frog, treefrog (Hyla spp.)
- tropical frog (Micrixalus spp.)
- true frogs (Ranidae spp.)
- Tukeit Hill frog (Allophryne ruthveni)
- turtle frog
- tusked frog
- Vietnamese mossy frog
- waterfrog
- water frog (Pelophylax spp., Telmatobius spp.)
- werefrog
- whipping frog
- white frog orchid
- White's tree frog
- wire frog
- wood frog (Lithobates sylvaticus)
- wrinkled frogs (Glandirana spp.)
- Wuyi sharp-nosed frog
- yellow-legged frogs (Rana spp.)
Related terms
- frosh (dialectal)
Descendants
Translations
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See also
Verb
frog (third-person singular simple present frogs, present participle frogging, simple past and past participle frogged)
- To hunt or trap frogs.
- (transitive, biology) To use a pronged plater to transfer (cells) to another plate.
- (transitive, cooking) To spatchcock (a chicken).
- (intransitive) To lie sprawled out like a frog; sploot.
Derived terms
- frog stitch
Etymology 2
From frog legs, stereotypical food of the French. Compare Kraut (“German person”) and French rosbif (“English person”) (from roast beef), with similar food etymologies.
Noun
frog (plural frogs)
- (derogatory, ethnic slur) A French person.
- Synonyms: baguette, cheese-eating surrender monkey, Frencher, Frenchy
- 1982 November 18, Antony Jay, Jonathan Lynn, “The Challenge”, in Yes, Minister, season 3, episode 2, spoken by Humphrey Appleby (Nigel Hawthorne):
- Yes. Can't trust the frogs.
- (Canada, offensive) A French-speaking person from Quebec.
Alternative forms
Derived terms
Translations
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See also
Further reading
- “frog”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
Etymology 3
Unknown. Possibly borrowed from Portuguese froco (“flock”), from Latin floccus (“flock”).
Noun
frog (plural frogs)
- A leather or fabric loop used to attach a sword or bayonet, or its scabbard, to a waist or shoulder belt.
- An ornate fastener for clothing consisting of an oblong button, toggle, or knot, that fits through a loop.
- 1844, Alexander Dumas, The Count of Monte Cristo:
- The visitor was about fifty-two years of age, dressed in one of the green surtouts, ornamented with black frogs, which have so long maintained their popularity all over Europe.
- A device used to secure stems in a floral arrangement, also called a flower frog or kenzan.
Translations
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Verb
frog (third-person singular simple present frogs, present participle frogging, simple past and past participle frogged)
Etymology 4
Supposedly from ribbit (“sound made by a frog”) sounding similar to "rip it".
Verb
frog (third-person singular simple present frogs, present participle frogging, simple past and past participle frogged)
- (transitive) To unravel part of (a knitted garment), either to correct a mistake or to reclaim the thread or yarn.
Etymology 5
Probably a minced oath alteration of fuck.
Verb
frog (third-person singular simple present frogs, present participle frogging, simple past and past participle frogged)
- (ambitransitive, slang, mildly vulgar) To have sex with; fuck.
- If you see a necktie hanging on the door, don't knock. I'll be in there frogging someone.
Further reading
- Category:frog on Wikimedia Commons.Wikimedia Commons
- Douglas Harper (2001–2025), “frog”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
Irish
Etymology
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [fˠɾˠɔɡ]
Noun
frog m or f (genitive singular froig, nominative plural froganna)
- frog (amphibian; organ in a horse’s foot)
Declension
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Derived terms
- frog crainn (“tree frog”)
- frog Góiliat (“Goliath frog”)
- frog nimhe (“poison dart frog”)
- frogaire (“frogman”)
- glóthach fhroig, sceathrach fhroig, sceith fhroig (“frog-spawn”)
Mutation
| radical | lenition | eclipsis |
|---|---|---|
| frog | fhrog | bhfrog |
Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Modern Irish.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.
Further reading
- Ó Dónaill, Niall (1977), “frog”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN
- de Bhaldraithe, Tomás (1959), “frog”, in English-Irish Dictionary, An Gúm
- “frog”, in New English-Irish Dictionary, Foras na Gaeilge, 2013–2025
Volapük
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [fɾoɡ]
Noun
frog (nominative plural frogs)
Declension
| singular | plural | |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | frog | frogs |
| genitive | froga | frogas |
| dative | froge | froges |
| accusative | frogi | frogis |
| vocative 1 | o frog! | o frogs! |
| predicative 2 | frogu | frogus |
1 status as a case is disputed
2 in later, non-classical Volapük only