frosh

From Middle English frossh, frosch, from Old English frosċ (“frog”), from Proto-Germanic *fruskaz (“frog”), from Proto-Indo-European *prew- (“to jump, hop”). Cognate with West Frisian froask (“frog”), Dutch vors (“frog”), German Frosch (“frog”), Norwegian frosk (“frog”), Icelandic froskur (“frog”). See also frosk, frog.

frosh (plural froshes)

1. (now dialectal) A frog.
   • 1565 (1593), Golding, Ovid's Met. xv. (1593) pg. 356:

     The mud hath in it certaine seed whereof greene froshes rise.

From an alteration of freshman, under influence from German dialectal Frosch (“grammar-school pupil”, literally “frog”). Related to English frosh above.

A portmanteau of freshman and sophomore.

frosh (plural froshes or frosh)

1. (colloquial) A first-year student, at certain universities, and a first-or-second-year student at other universities.

   That frosh is really getting on my nerves!

• underclassman
• newbie
• fresher (UK)

• prefrosh

frosh (third-person singular simple present froshes, present participle froshing, simple past and past participle froshed)

1. (transitive, slang) To initiate academic freshmen, notably in a testing way.

   This campus does not tolerate froshing in any form.

2. (transitive, slang) To damage through incompetence.

   Trying to open my car door with a coat hanger, I froshed the mechanism.

• (initiate): haze

• froshing

frosh

1. Alternative form of frossh