frown
Contents
English[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
Etymology 1[edit]
From Middle English frown, froun (“a threatening appearance; lowering of the clouds”), from frounen (“to frown”). See below.
Noun[edit]
frown (plural frowns)
- A facial expression in which the eyebrows are brought together, and the forehead is wrinkled, usually indicating displeasure, sadness or worry, or less often confusion or concentration.
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1873, Charles Darwin, The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals[1], page 223:
- He encounters some obstacle in his train of reasoning ... and then a frown passes like a shadow over his brow.
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- A facial expression in which the corners of the mouth are pointed down.
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1911 December 1, “Facial Expression Electric Sign”, in Popular Electricity[2], volume iv, number 8, Chicago, page 714:
- The smile and the frown are both indicated and the operation of a motor driven flasher causes the face to look happy and sad in turn.
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Derived terms[edit]
Translations[edit]
facial expression
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Etymology 2[edit]
From Middle English frounen (“to frown as an expression of disapproval, displeasure, shame, fear, or jealousy”), from Old French frognier (“to frown or scowl”), from Gaulish *frognā (“nostril”), from Proto-Celtic *srognā.
Verb[edit]
frown (third-person singular simple present frowns, present participle frowning, simple past and past participle frowned)
- (intransitive) To have a frown on one's face.
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She frowned when I told her the news.
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- (intransitive, figuratively) To manifest displeasure or disapprobation; to look with disfavour or threateningly.
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Noisy gossip in the library is frowned upon.
- Shakespeare
- The sky doth frown and lower upon our army.
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- (transitive) To repress or repel by expressing displeasure or disapproval; to rebuke with a look.
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Let us frown the impudent fellow into silence.
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- (transitive) To communicate by frowning.
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Frank frowned his displeasure with my proposal.
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2017 June 26, Alexis Petridis, “Glastonbury 2017 verdict: Radiohead, Foo Fighters, Lorde, Stormzy and more”, in the Guardian[3]:
- As the band paused between songs, a gust of wind blew a distinctive Worthy Farm odour in the direction of drummer/vocalist Julien Ehrich: “Wow,” he frowned, “this place smells of cow shit.”
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Derived terms[edit]
Translations[edit]
to have a frown on one's face
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to look with disfavour or threateningly
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.
Translations to be checked
Welsh[edit]
Adjective[edit]
frown
- Soft mutation of brown.
Mutation[edit]
| Welsh mutation | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| radical | soft | nasal | aspirate |
| brown | frown | mrown | unchanged |
| Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs. |
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Categories:
- English 1-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- English terms inherited from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- English terms derived from Old French
- English terms derived from Gaulish
- English terms derived from Proto-Celtic
- English verbs
- English intransitive verbs
- English terms with usage examples
- English transitive verbs
- en:Facial expressions
- Welsh non-lemma forms
- Welsh mutated adjectives
- Welsh soft-mutation forms
