frisk
[frisk]
- to dance, leap, skip, or gambol; frolic: The dogs and children frisked about on the lawn.
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- to search (a person) for concealed weapons, contraband goods, etc., by feeling the person's clothing: The police frisked both of the suspects.
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- a leap, skip, or caper.
- a frolic or gambol.
- the act of frisking a person.
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Origin of frisk
1425–75; late Middle English, as adj. < Middle French frisque, perhaps a spelling variant (with mute s) of fri(c)que lively, smart < Germanic (compare Middle Dutch vrec, Old High German freh avaricious, Middle High German vrech brave, German frech insolent); or < Middle French (Flanders) frisque < Middle Dutch frisc fresh
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Related Words
caperplayrollickrompdanceskipfrolicbouncejumpleapprancehoplarksporttripgambolinspectfancheckExamples from the Web for frisk
Contemporary Examples
Another issue was stop and frisk, which the police had been using to keep shootings down.
When being processed into solitary confinement, known as the Special Housing Unit, or SHU, the frisk is even more severe.
The official compared the change in intelligence strategy to the shift in “stop, question, and frisk” tactics in the street.
NYPD Will Continue Spying in the Muslim Community With Undercovers, InformantsMichael Daly
April 16, 2014
Would there be an end to the way cops stop, question, and frisk people on the street?
“Whether you look at CompStat or you talk about ‘stop and frisk,’ it comes down to the same thing,” he says.
Historical Examples
After all, it was Frisk who did it, and I did not even see Frisk do it.
The Story of the White-Rock CoveAnonymous
Then you had Frisk with you, and I suppose as playful as usual?
The Story of the White-Rock CoveAnonymous
He wanted to take with him his drum and his rocking-chair, and Frisk his dog.
It's long past Frisk's dinner-time, and he has not brought her food!
Fruits of CultureLeo Tolstoy
When I frisk a pair of cut-throats with them, it's different.
Laramie Holds the RangeFrank H. Spearman
frisk
- (intr) to leap, move about, or act in a playful manner; frolic
- (tr) (esp of animals) to whisk or wave brisklythe dog frisked its tail
- (tr)
- to search (someone) by feeling for concealed weapons, etc
- to rob by searching in this way
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- a playful antic or movement; frolic
- the act or an instance of frisking a person
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Word Origin
C16: from Old French frisque, of Germanic origin; related to Old High German frisc lively, fresh
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 frisk
v.
1510s, "to dance, frolic," from Middle English frisk "lively" (mid-15c.), from Middle French frisque "lively, brisk," from Old French frisque "fresh, new; merry, animated" (13c.), possibly from a Germanic source (cf. Middle Dutch vrisch "fresh," Old High German frisc "lively;" see fresh (adj.1)). Sense of "pat down in a search" first recorded 1781. Related: Frisked; frisking. As a noun from 1520s.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper