Froe

[Douglas G. Wilson]

>thanks to everyone who wrote in regarding 'fro'; had i checked further i
>could have deduced that fro was a variant of the wellknown words froe and
>frow, meaning, according to the american heritage second edition college
>dictionary, 'a cleaving tool having a heavy blade set at right angles to
>the handle,' (a definition which would mean nothing to all but
>my best beginning students). the etymology is 'unknown.'

The AH 4th ed. (online) shows

ETYMOLOGY: Earlier frower. possibly from froward , turned away (of the handle)

M-W and RH agree.

I guess my tentative derivation from "Dutch wife" won't work. (^_^)

-- Doug Wilson
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