Etymograph

English

refrication

Refrication comes from Latin refricō ‘to rub open again, to chafe again’, 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 CEfrico2‘to chafe’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CErefricō3as refricare‘to rub open again, to chafe again’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1633refrication3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin frio
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin refrico
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English refrication
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1633, Joseph Hall: “A continual refrication of the memory.”.

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 refrico‘to crumble, rub, or break into pieces’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfricoWiktionary, Latin refrico‘to chafe’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CErefricōWiktionary, English refricationas refricare‘to rub open again, to chafe again’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1633refricationWiktionary, English refrication. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1633, Joseph Hall: “A continual refrication of the memory.”

Linked words

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

fray, frivolous, frivolity, briny, 3 more

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

friable, 2 more

through Latin frico ‘to chafe’

friction, frayed, fricative, 2 more

Today it means

noun A rubbing up afresh; a brightening.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “refrication”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin frio, Latin refrico. 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- / refrication

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