froncer

== French == === Etymology === From fronce "frown, scowl" from Middle French fronce, from Old French fronces, fronche "frown, wrinkles, small creases in cloth", from Frankish *hrunkja "wrinkle" from Proto-Germanic *hrunkijō, *hrunkitō (“fold, wrinkle”), from Proto-Indo-European *sker- (“to turn, bend”). Akin to Old High German runza "fold, wrinkle, crease" (German Runzel "wrinkle"), Middle Dutch ronse "frown", Old Norse hrukka "wrinkle, crease" (Icelandic hrukka "wrinkle, crease, ruck"). More at ruck2. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /fʁɔ̃.se/ === Verb === froncer to scowl, to frown (transitive) to gather (fabric) ==== Conjugation ==== This verb is part of a group of -er verbs for which 'c' is softened to a 'ç' before the vowels 'a' and 'o'. ==== Derived terms ==== froncer les sourcils === Further reading === “froncer”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012