frisson

English

WOTD – 2 November 2009

Etymology

    Borrowed from French frisson.

    Pronunciation

    • (UK) IPA(key): /ˈfɹiː.sɔ̃ː/
    • (US) IPA(key): /fɹiˈsoʊn/, /fɹiˈsɒ̃/
    • Audio (US):(file)
    • Rhymes: (US) -oʊn

    Noun

    frisson (plural frissons)

    1. A sudden surge of excitement.
      I felt a frisson just as they were about to announce the winner in my category.
      • 1989, Greil Marcus, Lipstick Traces, Faber & Faber, published 2009:
        As a perversion of freedom it was, like any perversion, erotic; as alienation it carried the frisson of having just missed the brass ring, a sensation that always brought one back for more.
    2. A shiver; a thrill.
      Whenever the villain's theme played in the movie I felt a sudden frisson down my back.

    Translations

    Anagrams

    French

    Etymology

    Inherited from Late Latin *frīctiōnem, from Latin frīgeō (“to be cold”). Unrelated to the Classical Latin frictiō, borrowed as French friction.

    Pronunciation

    • IPA(key): /fʁi.sɔ̃/
    • Audio:(file)

    Noun

    frisson m (plural frissons)

    1. a shiver caused by cold or fever
    2. a shiver or thrill of fright that can be strangely pleasurable, as when reading good horror fiction
    3. an experience of intense excitement

    Derived terms

    Further reading

    Anagrams

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