froe
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See also: frö
English[edit]
Alternative forms[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
Etymology 1[edit]
Abbreviation of obsolete frower, from froward (“turned away”), referring to the orientation of the blade, at right angles to the handle. From late 16th century.[1]
Noun[edit]
froe (plural froes)
- A cleaving tool for splitting cask staves and shingles from a block of wood.
- Synonym: throe
- 1997, Charles Frazier, chapter 4, in Cold Mountain, London: Hodder and Stoughton, page 88:
- Patch shingles on the barn roof: do we have a maul and froe?
Derived terms[edit]
Translations[edit]
cleaving tool for splitting cask staves and shingles from a block of wood
Etymology 2[edit]
See frow.
Noun[edit]
froe (plural froes)
- (obsolete) A dirty woman; a slattern; a frow.
- 1630, Michael Drayton, Nymphal IV, [from The Muses Elizium], 1793, The Works of the British Poets, Volume 3: Drayton, Carew & Suckling, page 618,
- Like to thoſe raging frantic froes / For Bacchus' feaſts prepared;
- 1630, Michael Drayton, Nymphal IV, [from The Muses Elizium], 1793, The Works of the British Poets, Volume 3: Drayton, Carew & Suckling, page 618,