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fry¹

(frī)

v. fried (frīd), fry·ing, fries (frīz)

v.tr.

1. To cook over direct heat in hot oil or fat.

2. Slang To destroy (electronic circuitry) with excessive heat or current: "a power surge to the computer that fried a number of sensitive electronic components" (Erik Sandberg-Diment).

v.intr.

1. To be cooked in a pan over direct heat in hot oil or fat.

2. Slang To undergo execution in an electric chair.

n. pl. fries (frīz)

1. A french fry: ordered fries as a side dish.

2. A dish of a fried food.

3. A social gathering at which food is fried and eaten: a fish fry.

[Middle English frien, from Old French frire, from Latin frīgere.]

fry²

(frī)

1. pl. fry

a. A recently hatched fish.

b. A young salmon living in fresh water that is older than an alevin and younger than a parr or smolt.

c. A young animal of certain other groups, such as frogs.

2. pl. fry or fries An individual, especially a young or insignificant person: "These pampered public school boys ... had managed to evade the long prison sentences that lesser fry were serving" (Noel Annan).

[Middle English fri, probably from Anglo-Norman frie, from Old French frier, froyer, to rub, spawn, from Latin fricāre, to rub.]

Fry

(frī), Christopher 1907-2005.

British playwright who revitalized modern verse drama with his comic and religious works, such as A Phoenix Too Frequent (1946) and Curtmantle (1961).

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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