frill

• POS: Noun, Verb (intransitive), Verb (transitive)

CIDE DICTIONARY

frill, v. i. [OF. friller, fr. L. frigidulus somewhat cold, dim. of frigidus cold; akin to F. frileux chilly.].

•  To shake or shiver as with cold; as, the hawk frills.  Johnson.  [1913 Webster]
•  To wrinkle; -- said of the gelatin film.  [1913 Webster]

frill, v. t. 

 To provide or decorate with a frill or frills; to turn back. in crimped plaits; as, to frill a cap.  [1913 Webster]

frill, n. [See Frill, v. i.].

•  A ruffing of a bird's feathers from cold.  [1913 Webster]
•  A border or edging secured at one edge and left free at the other, usually fluted or crimped like a very narrow flounce.  [1913 Webster]
•  Something superfluous, such as an ornament, or an additional function on a device or in a system not essential to the basic operation. -- Commonly used in the phrase no frills, used adjectively to indicate a fully functional but economical device or service; as, an economical no-frills airline.  [PJC]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

frill, n. & v.
--n.
1 a a strip of material with one side gathered or pleated and the other left loose with a fluted appearance, used as an ornamental edging. b a similar paper ornament on a ham-knuckle, chop, etc. c a natural fringe of feathers, hair, etc., on an animal (esp. a bird) or a plant.
2 (in pl.) a unnecessary embellishments or accomplishments. b airs, affectation (put on frills).
--v.tr.
1 decorate with a frill.
2 form into a frill.

Idiom

frill (or frilled) lizard a large N. Australian lizard, Chlamydosaurus kingii, with an erectile membrane round the neck.

Derivative

frilled adj. frillery n.

Etymology

16th c.: orig. unkn.

THESAURUS

frill

addition, adornment, amenity, beading, beauties, bedizenment, binding, bonus, bordering, bordure, bravery, chiffon, clinquant, colors, colors of rhetoric, crease, creasing, crimp, crisp, decoration, dog-ear, double, double over, doubling, duplication, duplication of effort, duplicature, edging, elegant variation, embellishment, embroidery, enfold, expletive, extra, extra added attraction, extra dash, extravagance, fat, featherbedding, festoons, figure, figure of speech, filigree, filling, fillip, fimbria, fimbriation, fine writing, finery, flection, flexure, floridity, floridness, flounce, flourish, floweriness, flowers of speech, flute, fold, fold over, folderol, foofaraw, frilliness, frilling, frills, frills and furbelows, fringe, frippery, froufrou, furbelow, fuss, gaiety, galloon, gather, gaudery, gewgaw, gilding, gilt, gingerbread, hem, infold, interfold, jazz, lagniappe, lap over, lapel, lappet, list, lushness, luxuriance, luxury, motif, needlessness, ornament, ornamentation, ostentation, overadornment, overlap, padding, paste, payroll padding, pinchbeck, plait, plat, pleat, pleonasm, plica, plicate, plication, plicature, ply, premium, prolixity, purple patches, quill, redundance, redundancy, ruche, ruching, ruff, ruffle, selvage, showiness, skirting, something extra, stuffing, superaddition, superfluity, superfluousness, tautology, tinsel, trappings, trickery, trimming, trumpery, tuck, turn over, twill, twist, unnecessariness, valance, verbosity, welt, wrinkle

ROGET THESAURUS

frill

Edge

N edge, verge, brink, brow, brim, margin, border, confine, skirt, rim, flange, side, mouth, jaws, chops, chaps, fauces, lip, muzzle, threshold, door, porch, portal, coast, shore, frame, fringe, flounce, frill, list, trimming, edging, skirting, hem, selvedge, welt, furbelow, valance, gimp, border, marginal, skirting, labial, labiated, marginated.