Etymograph

English

frank

Frank comes from Old French franc ‘free’, from Latin Francus ‘a Frank’, probably from Proto-Germanic *frankô ‘javelin’, of unknown origin.

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*frankô1‘spear, javelin; a Frank’uncertain
  2. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*frankō1uncertain
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfrancus1‘a Frank’
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400franc1‘free; French’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500frank1
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1591frank1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English frank
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1591, Edmund Spenser, Prosopopoia. Or Mother Hubberds Tale.: “It is of frank gift.”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*frankôWiktionary, English frank‘spear, javelin; a Frank’uncertain
  2. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*frankōWiktionary, English frankuncertain
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfrancusWiktionary, English frank‘a Frank’
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400francWiktionary, English frank‘free; French’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500frankWiktionary, English frank
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1591frankWiktionary, English frank. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1591, Edmund Spenser, Prosopopoia. Or Mother Hubberds Tale.: “It is of frank gift.”

Linked words

through Proto-West Germanic *frankō ‘javelin, spear’

french

through Old French franc ‘free’

franchise, franco, franc, 3 more

Another origin of frank

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEFrancus
  2. Old Frenchc. 842–1400franc‘French’
  3. Englishtodayfrank

Today it means

adj Honest, especially in a manner that seems slightly blunt; candid; not reserved or disguised.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “frank”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Germanic *frankô / frank

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