frump

English

Etymology

Probably a contraction of late Middle English frumpylle (“wrinkle”), from Middle Dutch verrompelen, originally equivalent to for- +‎ rump +‎ -le.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fɹʌmp/

• Audio (RP):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ʌmp

Noun

frump (countable and uncountable, plural frumps)

1. (countable, colloquial) A frumpy person, somebody who is unattractive, drab or dowdy.

   You look like such a frump today!

   • 2022 March 31, Alexis Soloski, “Why the Sudden Urge to Reconsider Famous Women?”, in The New York Times‎^[1], →ISSN:

     If you flipped through certain magazines at this time you could be forgiven for thinking that there was no right way to be a woman, only wrong ones — bimbo or frump, slut or prude, shrew or doormat.

2. (uncountable, colloquial) Unattractive, dowdy clothes.

   Get that frump off – it's horrid!

3. (countable, dated) A bad-tempered person.
4. (obsolete) A flout or snub.

Derived terms

• frumpish
• frumpy

Translations

somebody who is unattractive, drab or dowdy

• Bulgarian: повлекана (bg) f (povlekana)
• Czech: hastroš m, cuchta f
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Romanian: ^{(please verify)} cineva care este rău îmbrăcat(ă)
• Russian: мымра (ru) f (mymra)

clothes that such a person would wear

• Czech: hadry (cs) m pl
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}

Verb

frump (third-person singular simple present frumps, present participle frumping, simple past and past participle frumped)

1. (obsolete, transitive) To insult; to flout; to mock; to snub.
   • 1617, John Fletcher, “The Chances”, in Comedies and Tragedies […], London: […] Humphrey Robinson, […], and for Humphrey Moseley […], published 1647, →OCLC, (please specify the act number in uppercase Roman numerals, and the scene number in lowercase Roman numerals):

     Was ever gentlewoman So frump'd off with a fool!

Derived terms

• frumper

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Etymology

From Middle English frumpylle.

Noun

frump

1. A sour ill-humored person.

Verb

frump

1. to chafe, scold

References

• Jacob Poole (d. 1827) (before 1828) William Barnes, editor, A Glossary, With some Pieces of Verse, of the old Dialect of the English Colony in the Baronies of Forth and Bargy, County of Wexford, Ireland, London: J. Russell Smith, published 1867, page 40