frowst

WOTD - 21 December 2009    

English

Alternative forms

• froust

Etymology

Back-formation from frowsty.

Pronunciation

• (UK, US) IPA: /fɹaʊst/
• Rhymes: -aʊst

Noun

frowst (plural frowsts)

1. Stuffiness; stifling warmth in a room.
   • 1916, John Buchan, Greenmantle

     I was pretty bad myself, but managed to move about all the time, for the frowst in my cabin would have sickened a hippo.

Synonyms

• (stuffiness; stifling warmth): stuffiness
• fustiness

Translations

stuffiness; stifling warmth in a room

French: touffeur (fr) , mofette (fr) Polish: zaduch (pl) m., stęchlizna (pl) f. Russian: духота (ru) f., спёртость (ru) f.

Spanish: tufo (es) , tufarada (es) , mofeta (es)

Verb

frowst (third-person singular simple present frowsts, present participle frowsting, simple past and past participle frowsted)

1. (intransitive) To enjoy being in a warm, close, stuffy place.
   • 1902, Rudyard Kipling, Just So Stories

     The cure for this ill is not to sit still, / Or frowst with a book by the fire;

Translations

to enjoy a warm, stuffy room

French: se calfeutrer (fr), se cloîtrer (fr), s'enfermer (fr) Italian: turarsi (it) Polish: schować się (w bezpiecznym, ciepłym miejscu) (pl) Spanish: encerrarse (es), enclaustrarse (es), recluirse (es)