英和和英

語源

Originally an East Anglian word. Either from a variant of the now obsolete fazle (“to unravel”), altered due to influence from fray, or from a blend of fazle and fray. fazle comes from earlier fasel, which was inherited from 中期英語 facelyn (“[of the end of a rope, or of cloth] to unravel”). 中期英語 facelyn was a verbal derivative of the noun fasylle (“frayed edge”), which was in turn a derivative (with the diminutive suffix -el) of 古期英語 fæs (“fringe, border”), from Proto-West Germanic *fas, from Proto-Germanic *fasōn.

Related to German Faser (“fibre”).

発音

• IPA: /ˈfɹæz(ə)l/
• 韻: -æzəl
• Homophone: frazil

動詞

frazzle (third-person singular simple present frazzles, present participle frazzling, simple past and past participle frazzled)

1. (transitive) To fray or wear down, especially at the edges.

   The new puppy has been chewing on everything, and my favorite afghan has become frazzled.

   • a. 1825, Forby, Voc. E. Anglia:

     Frazle, to unravel or rend cloth. Frazlings, threads of cloth, torn or unravelled.

   • 1893 December, The American Missionary, New York: American Missionary Association, page 418:

     One’s garments get frazzled in the grass; one’s mind and body and spiritual sense sometimes become frazzled, torn to pieces, good-for-nothing.

   • 1887, Joel Chandler Harris, Free Joe and Other Georgian Sketches:

     Her hair was of a reddish-gray color, and its frazzled and tangled condition suggested that the woman had recently passed through a period of extreme excitement.

2. (transitive) To drain emotionally or physically.

   After dealing with the children all day, I just can’t help feeling frazzled.

   • 1893 December, The American Missionary, New York: American Missionary Association, page 418:

     One’s garments get frazzled in the grass; one’s mind and body and spiritual sense sometimes become frazzled, torn to pieces, good-for-nothing.

派生語

名詞

frazzle (plural frazzles)

1. (informal) A burnt fragment; a cinder or crisp.

   The bacon was burned to a frazzle.

2. (informal) The condition or quality of being frazzled; a frayed end.
   • 1886–90, John G. Nicolay and John Hay, Abraham Lincoln: A History

     Gordon had sent word to Lee that he had fought his corps to a frazzle

   • 1894 January 2nd, The Columbus Dispatch, Columbus:

     Two years ago his nerves were worn to a frazzle over an attempt made to levy a tax.

   • 1897, Rudyard Kipling, Captains Courageous (Chapter III)

     My fingers are all cut to frazzles..

   • 1908, Alice MacGowan, Judith of the Cumberlands, page 29:

     The little girl, a little dancing imp with a frazzle of flying red hair and red-brown eyes.

3. A messy situation or scene.
   • 1980 December 20, Stewart Landers, “Triangle Produces Good Gay Theater”, in Gay Community News, volume 8, number 22, page 14:

     It ends with a splendid phone conversation between Robin and her mother. Robin (Laura Luz) is a frazzle of choreographed energy as her explanations are obviously leading to more trouble.

   • 2006, Mark Coggins, The Immortal Game, Big Earth Publishing, →ISBN, page 19:

     This is getting to be a real frazzle. We've had more odd characters running around here since that girl moved in than I have the patience to deal with

Further reading

• James A. H. Murray et al., editors (1884–1928), “Frazzle, v.”, in A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles (Oxford English Dictionary), volume IV (F–G), London: Clarendon Press, →OCLC, page 519, column 1.