German

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Etymology

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Shortened from Fratzengesicht (joker face), from fratzen (silly talk, jokes), probably borrowed from Italian frasche (nonsense), plural of frasca (vanity, caprice).[1]

Cognate with Dutch fratsen.[2]

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ˈfʁat͡sə/
  • Audio:(file)

Noun

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Fratze f (genitive Fratze, plural Fratzen)

  1. sneer; grimace; evil smile

Declension

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Descendants

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  • Dutch: frats

Noun

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Fratze

  1. nominative/genitive/accusative plural of Fratz

References

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  1. ^ Fratze” in Duden online
  2. ^ Friedrich Kluge (1883) “Fratze”, in John Francis Davis, transl., Etymological Dictionary of the German Language, published 1891