The Changing Uses of Freak

The Changing Uses of Freak The Changing Uses of Freak The Changing Uses of Freak By Maeve Maddox As a noun, freak is documented from the 1560s with the meaning sudden turn of mind: The king, in a freak of anger, ordered the generals execution. From meaning a sudden turn of mind, freak came to mean a trick or a prank: The boy was expelled for some boyish freak. By the 18th century, freak could mean something extremely imaginative. The 1785 citation in the OED refers to a wonderful ice-palace as a freak. The expression freak of nature gained currency in the 19th century. From that phrase derives freak in the sense of something that has developed abnormally, like a two-headed calf. In modern informal speech, freak is used with a qualifying word to label someone as being extremely committed to something: health freak control freak Jesus freak vegan freak The earliest example of this formation is from 1908: camera buffs were called kodak freaks. Freak is also used as a verb: to freak out: (occas. without out): to undergo an intense emotional experience, to become stimulated, to rave, esp. under the influence of hallucinatory drugs. Also trans., to cause (a person) to be aroused or stimulated in such a way. (OED) The verb has in turn spawned the noun freak-out (also spelled without the hyphen): Horse had a freak out in the trailer and cut hocks. Freak has two adjective forms, freakish (1653) and freaky (1824). The highway official being quoted in a news story about the narrow escape of a motorist when a second lane marker came loose from the road must have been too rattled to think of either of these adjectives: this is just another freak accident, even freaker than before Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:50 Redundant Phrases to AvoidHow to Pronounce MobileList of 50 Compliments and Nice Things to Say!