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fry 1 (frī)
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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.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2020 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
 
fry 2 (frī)
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n.
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.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2020 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
 

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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