frag
[frag]U.S. Army and Marine Corps Slang.
- to kill, wound, or assault (especially an unpopular or overzealous superior) with a fragmentation grenade.
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Origin of frag
An Americanism dating back to 1965–70; by shortening
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for frag
Historical Examples
The statement about the campaign of Assurdainani is repeated in frag.
The History of Antiquity, Vol. III (of VI)Max Duncker
This line is repeated with variations as a sort of refrain, Frag.
In the course of time the number of the tribunes was fixed at ten, Frag.
Dio's Rome, Volume 1 (of 6)Cassius Dio
Sextus, in order to get some plausible pretext for the desertion, Frag.
Dio's Rome, Volume 1 (of 6)Cassius Dio
The dwellers in the vicinity, desiring to learn what was revealed by the books, Frag.
Dio's Rome, Volume 1 (of 6)Cassius Dio
frag
- (tr) US military slang to kill or wound (a fellow soldier or superior officer) deliberately with an explosive device
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Word Origin
C20: short for fragmentation grenade, as used in Vietnam
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for frag
v.
by 1970, U.S. military slang, from slang noun shortening of fragmentation grenade (1918). Related: Fragged; fragging.
Fragging is a macabre ritual of Vietnam in which American enlisted men attempt to murder their superiors. The word comes from the nickname for hand grenades, a weapon popular with enlisted men because the evidence is destroyed with the consummation of the crime. ["Saturday Review," Jan. 8, 1972]
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper