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fritter

noun, verb — 7 senses

fritter

noun

UK /ˈfɹɪtə(ɹ)/ · US /ˈfɹɪtɚ/

Etymology Inherited from Middle English fryture, from Middle French friture, from Old French friture, from Vulgar Latin *frīctūra, from Latin frīgō (“to fry”); compare fry. For the development of Middle English /iu̯r(ə)/ into /ə(ɹ)/, compare armour, batter, border, solder.

1

Synonym of pancake, a portion of batter fried on a pan.

2

A dish made by coating various other foods in batter and frying or deep-frying them together, typically in small portions.

3

Figuratively, Uncommon A fragment; a shred; a small piece.

  • And cut whole giants into fritters.1662 (indicated as 1663), [Samuel Butler], “[The First Part of Hudibras]”, in Hudibras. The First and Second Parts. […], London: […] John Martyn and Henry Herringman, […], published 1678; republished in A[lfred] R[ayney] Waller, editor, Hudibras: Written in the Time of the Late Wars, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: University Press, 1905, →OCLC:
Derived terms
apple fritter, corn fritter, French fritter, fritter batter, fritterlike, fritterware, oyster fritter, rice fritter, spam fritter

fritter

verb

Etymology Inherited from Middle English fryture, from Middle French friture, from Old French friture, from Vulgar Latin *frīctūra, from Latin frīgō (“to fry”); compare fry. For the development of Middle English /iu̯r(ə)/ into /ə(ɹ)/, compare armour, batter, border, solder.

1

Often, With about To squander or waste time, money, or other resources; e.g. occupy oneself idly or without clear purpose, to tinker with an unimportant part of a project, to dally, sometimes as a form of procrastination.

Around; or away; around; or away

  • I was supposed to do work, but I frittered around all afternoon.
  • He can’t figure out how to finish the paper he’s writing, so he’s resorted to frittering with the fonts.
1 more example
  • It is quite possible to fritter one's life away in answer to the endless calls of others.
2

To sinter.

3

To cut (meat etc.) into small pieces for frying.

4

To break into small pieces or fragments.

  • Break all nerves, and fritter all their sense.1728, [Alexander Pope], “(please specify the page)”, in The Dunciad. An Heroic Poem. […], Dublin; London: […] A. Dodd, →OCLC:
Derived terms
fritter away, frittered, fritterer, frittering
Related terms
tempura

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.

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