Etymograph

English

friction

Friction comes from Latin fricō ‘rub’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *bʰreyH- ‘to cut’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰreyH-1‘to cut’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰriH-o-s1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*frios1reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfriō2‘to crumble, rub, or break into pieces’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfricō3‘rub’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfrictiō4as frictionem
  7. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600friction4
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1792friction4

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin frio
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin frico
  3. 3 Wiktionary, Latin frictio
  4. 4 Wiktionary, English friction
  5. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1792, James Curry, Observations on Apparent Death from Drowning: “The frictions should at first be very gentle, and…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰreyH-Wiktionary, Latin frio‘to cut’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰriH-o-sWiktionary, Latin frioreconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*friosWiktionary, Latin frioreconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfriōWiktionary, Latin frico‘to crumble, rub, or break into pieces’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfricōWiktionary, Latin frictio‘rub’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfrictiōWiktionary, English frictionas frictionem
  7. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600frictionWiktionary, English friction
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1792frictionWiktionary, English friction. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1792, James Curry, Observations on Apparent Death from Drowning: “The frictions should at first be very gentle, and…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *bʰreyH- ‘to cut’

fray, frivolous, frivolity, briny, 4 more

through Latin friō ‘to crumble, rub, or break into pieces’

friable, 3 more

through Latin fricō ‘rub’

frayed, fricative, 3 more

Today it means

noun The rubbing of one object or surface against another.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “friction”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin frio, Latin frico, Latin frictio. 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-Indo-European *bʰreyH- / friction

Shirt and support for this word