Word of the Day : February 14, 2018

frolic \FRAH-lik\ verb

Definition

1 : to amuse oneself : make merry

2 : to play and run about happily : romp

Did You Know?

Frolic is a playful word with a happy history. It traces back to the Dutch word vroolijk ("merry"), which in turn evolved from a Middle Dutch combination of vro ("happy") and the adjectival suffix -lijc ("-ly"). Vro is related to the Old Frisian and Old High German fro, which also means "happy." (It is also a distant relative of Old English frogga, from which Modern English derived frog.) When frolic first entered English in the early-mid 16th century, it was used as an adjective meaning "merry" or "full of fun." The verb came into use by the end of that century, followed a few decades later by a noun use, as in "an evening of fun and frolic."

Learn a new word every day, delivered to your inbox!

Test Your Vocabulary



  Valentine's Day Quiz






    Which word used to mean sweetheart or darling?




                                  philosopher
                                  drip
                                  bully
                                  creep







    Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?
    TAKE THE QUIZ





    Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.
    TAKE THE QUIZ

Aired February 14, 2018

All Merriam-Webster content is available at www.merriam-webster.com