frazzle

== English == === Alternative forms === frazle === Etymology === Originally an East Anglian word. Either from a variant of the now obsolete fazle (“to unravel”), altered due to influence from fray, or from a blend of fazle and fray. fazle comes from earlier fasel, which was inherited from Middle English facelyn (“[of the end of a rope, or of cloth] to unravel”). Middle English facelyn was a verbal derivative of the noun fasylle (“frayed edge”), which was in turn a derivative (with the diminutive suffix -el) of Old English fæs (“fringe, border”), from Proto-West Germanic *fas, from Proto-Germanic *fasōn. Related to German Faser (“fibre”). === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /ˈfɹæz(ə)l/ Rhymes: -æzəl Homophone: frazil === Verb === frazzle (third-person singular simple present frazzles, present participle frazzling, simple past and past participle frazzled) (transitive) To fray or wear down, especially at the edges. (transitive) To drain emotionally or physically. ==== Derived terms ==== === Noun === frazzle (plural frazzles) (informal) A burnt fragment; a cinder or crisp. (informal) The condition or quality of being frazzled; a frayed end. 1886–90, John G. Nicolay and John Hay, Abraham Lincoln: A History Gordon had sent word to Lee that he had fought his corps to a frazzle 1897, Rudyard Kipling, Captains Courageous (Chapter III) My fingers are all cut to frazzles.. A messy situation or scene. === Further reading === James A. H. Murray et al., editors (1884–1928), “Frazzle, v.”, in A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles (Oxford English Dictionary), volume IV (F–G), London: Clarendon Press, →OCLC, page 519, column 1.