Frank

See also: frank

English

Pronunciation

• enPR: frăngk, IPA^(key): /fɹæŋk/
• Rhymes: -æŋk
• Homophones: frank, franc

Etymology 1

From Middle English Frank, partially from Old English Franca (“a Frank”); and partially from Old French Franc, and/or Latin Francus (“a Frank”), from Frankish *Franko (“a Frank”); both maybe from Proto-Germanic *frankô (“javelin”). Cognate with Old High German Franko (“a Frank”), Old English franca (“spear, javelin”). Compare Saxon, ultimately a derivative of Proto-Germanic *sahsą (“knife, dagger”).

Noun

Frank (plural Franks)

1. One of the Franks, a Germanic federation that inhabited parts of what are now France, the Low Countries and Germany.

Derived terms

• Frankish
• Frankland

Related terms

• ferenghi
• franc
• France
• French
• Frenchify
• franchise
• Francia
• francisation, francization
• francise, francize (in Quebec; Oxford dictionary: [1])

Translations

one of the Franks

• Albanian: frëng (sq) m, frâng m
• Arabic: إِفْرَنْجِيّ‎ m (ʾifranjiyy)
• Armenian: ֆրանկ (hy) (frank)
• Bengali: ফ্রাংক (phraṅk)
• Catalan: franc (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 法兰克人, 法蘭克人

• Danish: franker c
• Finnish: frankki (fi)
• French: Franc (fr) m, Franque (fr) f
• Galician: franco (gl) m
• German: Franke (de) m, Fränkin (de) f
• Greek: Φράγκος (el) m (Frágkos)

  Ancient: Φράγγος m (Phrángos)

• Icelandic: franki (is) m

• Irish: Franc m
• Japanese: フランク人 (フランクじん, furanku-jin)
• Korean: 프랑크인 (peurangkeu'in)
• Latin: Francus (la) m
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: franker m

  Nynorsk: frankar m

• Portuguese: franco (pt) m
• Russian: франк (ru) (frank)
• Sanskrit: फिरङ्गिन् (sa) m (phiraṅgin)
• Spanish: franco (es) m
• Swedish: frank (sv) c
• Turkish: Frenk (tr)
• Welsh: Ffranc m

Etymology 2

The surname derives from the medieval tribal name. The given name is also a form of Francis, with formal given name status since the 19th century.

Proper noun

Frank

1. A male given name from the Germanic languages.
   • c. 1597, William Shakespeare, “The Merry VViues of VVindsor”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act II, scene i]:

     Mrs. Ford. How now, sweet Frank! why art thou melancholy?

2. A diminutive of the male given name Francis
   • 1996 Frank McCourt, Angela's Ashes, HarperCollins, →ISBN, Chapter VII, page 197:

     Your name is Francis, is it?

     Frank, sir.

     Your name is Francis. There was never a St. Frank. That's a name for gangsters and politicians.

3. A surname transferred from the nickname.

Translations

male given name

• Arabic: فْرَنْك‎‎ m (frank)
• Armenian: ֆրանկ (hy) (frank)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 弗蘭克 (zh), 弗兰克 (zh) (Fúlánkè)

• Danish: Frank c
• Dutch: Frank (nl) m
• French: Franck (fr) m, Frank (fr) m, François (fr) m
• Galician: Franco m
• Georgian: ფრენკი (prenḳi), ფრანკი (pranḳi)
• German: Frank (de) m
• Greek: Φρανκ m (Frank)
• Hawaiian: Palani

• Hebrew: פְרַנְק‎ (he) (frank)
• Icelandic: Frank (is) m
• Italian: Franco (it)
• Japanese: フランク (Furanku)
• Korean: 프랭크 (Peuraengkeu), 프랑크 (Peurangkeu)
• Manx: Frank m
• Norwegian: Frank (no)
• Persian: فرانک‎‎ (ferânk)
• Portuguese: Franco m, Frank m
• Russian: Франк (ru) m (Frank), Фрэнк (ru) m (Frɛnk) (transliteration)
• Spanish: Franco (es)
• Swedish: Frank (sv) c
• Thai: ฟรังค์ (frang)

diminutive

• Cebuano: Prangkoy

surname

• Galician: Franco m

• Yiddish: פֿראַנק‎ (frank)

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Danish

Proper noun

Frank

1. A male given name borrowed from English and German.

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Dutch

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /frɑŋk/
• Hyphenation: Frank
• Rhymes: -ɑŋk

Etymology 1

From Middle Dutch vranke, from Old Dutch franko.

Noun

Frank m (plural Franken)

1. (chiefly plural) Frank (member of a Migration-Period Germanic tribe)

Derived terms

• Frankisch
• Frankrijk

Etymology 2

Proper noun

Frank m

1. An unknown-gender given name from Dutch, Frank.

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Faroese

Proper noun

Frank m

1. A male given name.

Usage notes

• son of Frank: Franksson
• daughter of Frank: Franksdóttir

Declension

	Singular
	Indefinite
Nominative	Frank
Accusative	Frank
Dative	Franki
Genitive	Franks

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French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fʁɑ̃k/

• Audio

  (file)

Proper noun

Frank m

1. A male given name, equivalent to English Frank

Usage notes

• More often spelled Franck

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German

Etymology

From Old High German Franko (“a Frank”). Used in the Middle Ages and revived in the 19th century.

Pronunciation

• Audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aŋk

Proper noun

Frank m or f (proper noun, surname, masculine genitive Franks or (with an article) Frank, feminine genitive Frank, plural Franks)

1. a surname.
2. A male given name, popular in the 1960s and the 1970s

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Icelandic

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fraŋ̊k/
• Rhymes: -aŋ̊k

Proper noun

Frank m

1. A male given name, equivalent to English Frank.

Declension

declension of Frank

m-s1	singular
	indefinite
nominative	Frank
accusative	Frank
dative	Frank
genitive	Franks

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Manx

Etymology 1

From Latin Francia, from Francus (“Frank”).

Proper noun

yn Rank f (genitive ny Frank)

1. France

   Haink eh noal ass yn Rank.

   He came over from France.

   Hooar eh baase 'sy Rank.

   He got killed in France.

   Ren ad troailt 'sy Rank as ayns yn Spaainey ny yei shen.

   They travelled in France and then in Spain.

   T'eh ceau yn geurey ayns jiass ny Frank.

   He winters in the south of France.

Usage notes

• Always preceded by the definite article.

Related terms

• Frangagh
• Frangish

Etymology 2

From Latin Francus (“Frank”).

Proper noun

Frank m

1. A male given name from Latin, equivalent to English Francis.

   Coordinate term: Frangaid

Mutation

Manx mutation
Radical	Lenition	Eclipsis
Frank	Rank	Vrank
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

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Norwegian

Etymology

From English or, rarely, English Frank, in the 19th century.

Proper noun

Frank

1. A male given name.

References

• Kristoffer Kruken - Ola Stemshaug: Norsk personnamnleksikon, Det Norske Samlaget, Oslo 1995, →ISBN
• [2] Statistisk sentralbyrå, Namnestatistikk: 10 272 males with the given name Frank living in Norway on January 1st 2011, with the frequency peak in the 1960s. Accessed on April 29th, 2011.

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Portuguese

Etymology

Borrowed from English Frank.

Pronunciation

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈfɾɐ̃k/, /ˈfɾɐ̃.ki/

Proper noun

Frank m

1. A male given name from English, equivalent to English Frank

Related terms

• Franco

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Swedish

Proper noun

Frank c (genitive Franks)

1. A male given name borrowed from English or, rarely, from German.