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
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 for frag
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
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Word Origin and History for fragging
frag
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