frank

• adj. 坦白的，直率的；老實的
• n. 免費郵寄特權
• vt. 免費郵寄

來自Frank, 法蘭克人，部落名。在公元五世紀，整個西歐仍處在一種野蠻的部落時代，整個社會被分成自由人，俘虜，和奴隸三個等級，而Frank人做為戰勝級，享受唯一的自由權。后部落名通用化，賦予諸多美好的詞義，如自由的，高貴的，美麗的，優雅的，大方的，真誠的等。后主要用于坦率的，其它詞義逐漸廢棄。參照電影《龐貝末日》。

可能來自old Germanic*frankon, 標槍，詞源可能同fork. 比較Saxon, 詞源同sax, 斧頭。

frank

frank: [13] To call someone frank is to link them with the Germanic people who conquered Gaul around 500 AD, the Franks, who gave their name to modern France and the French. After the conquest, full political freedom was granted only to ethnic Franks or to those of the subjugated Celts who were specifically brought under their protection. Hence, franc came to be used as an adjective meaning ‘free’ – a sense it retained when English acquired it from Old French: ‘He was frank and free born in a free city’, John Tiptoft, Julius Caesar’s commentaries 1470.

In both French and English, however, it gradually progressed semantically via ‘liberal, generous’ and ‘open’ to ‘candid’. Of related words in English, frankincense [14] comes from Old French franc encens, literally ‘superior incense’ (‘superior’ being a now obsolete sense of French franc), and franc [14], the French unit of currency, comes from the Latin phrase Francorum rex ‘king of the Franks’, which appeared on the coins minted during the reign of Jean le Bon (1350–64).

The Franks, incidentally, supposedly got their name from their preferred weapon, the throwing spear, in Old English franca.
=> french

frank (adj.)

c. 1300, "free, liberal, generous;" 1540s, "outspoken," from Old French franc "free (not servile); without hindrance, exempt from; sincere, genuine, open, gracious, generous; worthy, noble, illustrious" (12c.), from Medieval Latin francus "free, at liberty, exempt from service," as a noun, "a freeman, a Frank" (see Frank).

A generalization of the tribal name; the connection is that Franks, as the conquering class, alone had the status of freemen in a world that knew only free, captive, or slave. For sense connection of "being one of the nation" and "free," compare Latin liber "free," from the same root as German Leute "nation, people" (see liberal (adj.)) and Slavic "free" words (Old Church Slavonic svobodi, Polish swobodny, Serbo-Croatian slobodan) which are cognates of the first element in English sibling "brother, sister" (in Old English used more generally: "relative, kinsman").

Frank (n.)

one of the Germanic tribal people (Salian Franks) situated on the lower Rhine from 3c. that conquered Romano-Celtic northern Gaul c.500 C.E.; from their territory and partly from their language grew modern France and French. Old English franc, franca "freeman, noble; Frank, Frenchman," from Medieval Latin francus, a Late Latin borrowing of Frankish *Frank, the people's self-designation (cognate with Old High German Franko, the Latin word also is the source of Spanish and Italian names Franco).

The origin of the ethnic name is uncertain; it traditionally is said to be from the old Germanic word *frankon "javelin, lance" (compare Old English franca "lance, javelin"), their preferred weapon, but the reverse may be the case. Compare also Saxon, traditionally from root of Old English seax "knife." The adjectival sense of "free, at liberty" (see frank (adj.)) probably developed from the tribal name, not the other way round. It was noted by 1680s that, in the Levant, this was the name given to anyone of Western nationality (compare Feringhee and lingua franca).

frank (n.)

short for frankfurter, by 1916, American English. Franks and beans attested by 1953.

frank (v.)

"to free a letter for carriage or an article for publication, to send by public conveyance free of expense," 1708, from shortened form of French affranchir, from a- "to" + franchir "to free" (see franchise (v.)). A British parliamentary privilege from 1660-1840; in U.S. Congress, technically abolished 1873. Related: Franked; franking. As a noun, "signature of one entitled to send letters for free," from 1713.

1. Frank Deford is a contributing editor for Vanity Fair magazine.

弗蘭克·德福特是雜志《名利場》的特約編輯。

來自柯林斯例句

2. Frank is of the opinion that the 1934 yacht should have won.

弗蘭克認為本該是那艘1934年的帆船獲勝。

來自柯林斯例句

3. She hadn't followed her instinct and because of this Frank was dead.

她沒有聽從自己心里的話，弗蘭克因此死了。

來自柯林斯例句

4. Frank put the first plank down and nailed it in place.

弗蘭克放下第一塊厚木板，把它釘在合適的位置上。

來自柯林斯例句

5. Frank had been struck down by a massive heart attack.

弗蘭克的身體已經被一場嚴重的心臟病拖垮了。

來自柯林斯例句