frock
[frok]
- a gown or dress worn by a girl or woman.
- a loose outer garment worn by peasants and workers; smock.
- a coarse outer garment with large sleeves, worn by monks.
- frock coat.
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- to provide with, or clothe in, a frock.
- to invest with priestly or clerical office.
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Origin of frock
1300–50; Middle English froke < Old French froc < Frankish; compare Old Saxon, Old High German hroc coat
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
frocking
- coarse material suitable for making frocks or work clothes
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frock
- a girl's or woman's dress
- a loose garment of several types, such as a peasant's smock
- a coarse wide-sleeved outer garment worn by members of some religious orders
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- (tr) to invest (a person) with the office or status of a cleric
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Word Origin
C14: from Old French froc; related to Old Saxon, Old High German hroc coat
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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Word Origin and History for frocking
frock
n.
mid-14c., from Old French froc "a monk's habit" (12c.), of unknown origin; perhaps from Frankish *hrok or some other Germanic source (cf. Old High German hroc "mantle, coat;" Old Norse rokkr, Old English rocc, Old Frisian rokk, German Rock "coat"), from PIE root *rug- "to spin."
Another theory traces it to Medieval Latin floccus, from Latin floccus "flock of wool." Meaning "outer garment for women or children" is from 1530s. Frock-coat attested by 1823.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper