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Dictionary

Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

fritter en · NOUN

Pronunciation

  • [ˈfɹɪɾɚ] (US)
  • frĭtʹər (US)
  • (US) audio
  • /ˈfɹɪtə(ɹ)/ (UK)
  • /ˈfɹɪtɚ/ (US)
  • (Southern-England) audio

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English fryture, from Middle French friture, from Old French friture, from Vulgar Latin *frīctūra, from Latin frīgō (“to fry”); compare fry. For the development of Middle English /iu̯r(ə)/ into /ə(ɹ)/, compare armour, batter, border, solder.

Meanings

  1. Synonym of pancake, a portion of batter fried on a pan.
  2. A dish made by coating various other foods in batter and frying or deep-frying them together, typically in small portions.
  3. (figuratively, uncommon) A fragment; a shred; a small piece.
    • And cut whole giants into fritters. 1662 (indicated as 1663), [Samuel Butler], “[The First Part of Hudibras]”, in Hudibras. The First and Second Parts. […], London: […] John Martyn and Henry Herringman, […], published 1678; republished in A[lfred] R[ayney] Waller, editor, Hudibras: Written in the Time of the Late Wars, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: University Press, 1905, →OCLC:

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
fritters Number=Plur lexicographic

Deriveds

rice fritter · French fritter · spam fritter · fritter batter · corn fritter · apple fritter · oyster fritter · fritterware · fritterlike

Synonyms

pancake

Translations (27)

mk масленица (dish made by deep-frying) · fa بنیه (dish made by deep-frying) · mk мекица (dish made by deep-frying) · ia fritura (dish made by deep-frying) · ko 튀김 (dish made by deep-frying) · fr beignet (dish made by deep-frying) · enm fryture (dish made by deep-frying) · ca bunyol (dish made by deep-frying) · sh krofna (dish made by deep-frying) · ru ола́дья (dish made by deep-frying) · cy mioden (dish made by deep-frying) · nl beignet (dish made by deep-frying) · ru фри (dish made by deep-frying) · ml വറ (dish made by deep-frying) · de Küchle (dish made by deep-frying) · tl maruya (dish made by deep-frying) · de Bratling (dish made by deep-frying) · ru по́нчик (dish made by deep-frying) · mk крофна (dish made by deep-frying) · fi friteerattu (dish made by deep-frying) · de im Teigmantel (dish made by deep-frying) · mk питулица (dish made by deep-frying) · ru пирожо́к (dish made by deep-frying) · mi mea kōnatunatu (dish made by deep-frying) · sh uštipak (dish made by deep-frying) · my အကြော် (dish made by deep-frying) · ga friochtóg (dish made by deep-frying)

fritter en · VERB

Pronunciation

  • [ˈfɹɪɾɚ] (US)
  • frĭtʹər (US)
  • (US) audio
  • /ˈfɹɪtə(ɹ)/ (UK)
  • /ˈfɹɪtɚ/ (US)
  • (Southern-England) audio

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English fryture, from Middle French friture, from Old French friture, from Vulgar Latin *frīctūra, from Latin frīgō (“to fry”); compare fry. For the development of Middle English /iu̯r(ə)/ into /ə(ɹ)/, compare armour, batter, border, solder.

Meanings

  1. (intransitive, often, qualifier:around; or away; around; or away, with about) To squander or waste time, money, or other resources; e.g. occupy oneself idly or without clear purpose, to tinker with an unimportant part of a project, to dally, sometimes as a form of procrastination.
    • I was supposed to do work, but I frittered around all afternoon.
    • It is quite possible to fritter one's life away in answer to the endless calls of others.
    • He can’t figure out how to finish the paper he’s writing, so he’s resorted to frittering with the fonts.
  2. (transitive) To sinter.
  3. (transitive) To cut (meat etc.) into small pieces for frying.
  4. (transitive) To break into small pieces or fragments.
    • Break all nerves, and fritter all their sense. 1728, [Alexander Pope], “(please specify the page)”, in The Dunciad. An Heroic Poem. […], Dublin; London: […] A. Dodd, →OCLC:

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
fritters Number=Sing, Person=3, Tense=Pres lexicographic
frittering Tense=Pres, VerbForm=Part lexicographic
frittered Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part lexicographic
frittered Tense=Past lexicographic

Deriveds

frittering · frittered · fritter away · fritterer

Relateds

tempura

Translations (19)

de würfeln (to cut meat into small pieces) · ru дробить (to break into small pieces) · es malgastar energías (to waste time) · bg прахосвам (to waste time) · de sich verzetteln (to waste time) · de zerbrechen (to break into small pieces) · de zerkleinern (to break into small pieces) · ru дурью маяться (to waste time) · fi näperrellä (to waste time) · fi suikaloida (to cut meat into small pieces) · de zerteilen (to cut meat into small pieces) · de zerteilen (to break into small pieces) · de zerkleinern (to cut meat into small pieces) · ru нарезать (to cut meat into small pieces) · de frickeln (to waste time) · nl prutsen (to waste time) · fi särkeä (to break into small pieces) · de prötteln (to waste time) · de kleinschneiden (to cut meat into small pieces)