frosting

[fraw-sting, fros-ting] /ˈfrɔ stɪŋ, ˈfrɒs tɪŋ/
noun
1.
a sweet mixture, cooked or uncooked, for coating or filling cakes, cookies, and the like; icing.
2.
a dull or lusterless finish, as on metal or glass.
3.
a process of highlighting the hair by bleaching selected strands.
4.
a material used for decorative work, as signs, displays, etc., made from coarse flakes of powdered glass.
Idioms
5.
the frosting on the cake, something added to make a thing better or more desirable.
Also, icing on the cake.
Origin
1610-20; frost + -ing1
Related forms
nonfrosting, adjective

frost

[frawst, frost] /frɔst, frɒst/
noun
1.
a degree or state of coldness sufficient to cause the freezing of water.
2.
Also called hoarfrost. a covering of minute ice needles, formed from the atmosphere at night upon the ground and exposed objects when they have cooled by radiation below the dew point, and when the dew point is below the freezing point.
3.
the act or process of freezing.
4.
coldness of manner or temperament:
We noticed a definite frost in his greeting.
5.
Informal. a coolness between persons.
6.
Informal. something that meets with lack of enthusiasm, as a theatrical performance or party; failure; flop.
7.
a milk shake, frappe, or similar drink:
a chocolate frost.
verb (used with object)
8.
to cover with frost.
9.
to give a frostlike surface to (glass, metal, etc.).
10.
to ice (a cake, cookies, etc.).
11.
to bleach selected strands of (a person's hair) in order to create highlights.
12.
to kill or injure by frost:
a freezing rain that badly frosted the tomato plants.
13.
to make angry:
I was frosted by his critical comment.
verb (used without object)
14.
to become covered with frost or freeze (often followed by up or over):
The windshield has frosted over.
15.
(of varnish, paint, etc.) to dry with a film resembling frost.
Idioms
16.
degree of frost, British. the degree of temperature Fahrenheit below the freezing point:
10 degrees of frost is equivalent to 22°F.
Origin
before 900; Middle English, Old English frost, forst; cognate with Old Saxon, Old High German, Old Norse frost; akin to freeze
Related forms
frostless, adjective
frostlike, adjective
unfrost, verb (used with object)
Synonyms
4. aloofness, coolness, distance, remoteness.
Examples from the web for frosting
  • If icing hardens too much while frosting cake, set back on low heat and stir until it is spreadable.
  • Could be the fats and eggs in the cake and fats in the frosting.
  • To make frosting sift cocoa and confectioner's sugar, add margarine and enough milk until a smooth frosting is made.
  • Too much cloying frosting, not enough delicious tasting cake.
  • Our whoopie pies layer sweet and tangy cream cheese frosting between two moist red velvet cakes.
  • The result is strong and juicy and makes frosting superfluous.
  • Everyone got his collars and cuffs filthy with frosting.
  • Plates were decked out with squiggles of frosting depicting fish and other creatures.
  • Then it can be wrapped without damage to the frosting, and returned to the freezer.
  • Perhaps the ornamental frosting on culture's cake arose through a general human ability to learn new things.
British Dictionary definitions for frosting

frosting

/ˈfrɒstɪŋ/
noun
1.
a soft icing based on sugar and egg whites
2.
Also called icing. a sugar preparation, variously flavoured and coloured, for coating and decorating cakes, biscuits, etc
3.
a rough or matt finish on glass, silver, etc
4.
(slang) the practice of stealing a car while the owner has left it idling to defrost the windows and heat the engine

frost

/frɒst/
noun
1.
a white deposit of ice particles, esp one formed on objects out of doors at night See also hoarfrost
2.
an atmospheric temperature of below freezing point, characterized by the production of this deposit
3.
degrees below freezing point: eight degrees of frost indicates a temperature of either –8°C or 24°F
4.
(informal) something given a cold reception; failure
5.
(informal) coolness of manner
6.
the act of freezing
verb
7.
to cover or be covered with frost
8.
(transitive) to give a frostlike appearance to (glass, etc), as by means of a fine-grained surface
9.
(transitive) (mainly US & Canadian) to decorate (cakes, etc) with icing or frosting
10.
(transitive) to kill or damage (crops, etc) with frost
Derived Forms
frostlike, adjective
Word Origin
Old English frost; related to Old Norse, Old Saxon, Old High German frost; see freeze

Frost

/frɒst/
noun
1.
Sir David (Paradine). born 1939, British television presenter and executive, noted esp for political interviews
2.
Robert (Lee). 1874–1963, US poet, noted for his lyrical verse on country life in New England. His books include A Boy's Will (1913), North of Boston (1914), and New Hampshire (1923)
Word Origin and History for frosting
n.

1610s as an action; 1756 as a substance; meaning "cake icing" is from 1858; verbal noun from frost (v.).

frost

n.

Old English forst, frost "a freezing, becoming frozen, extreme cold," from Proto-Germanic *frusta- (cf. Old Saxon, Old Frisian, Old High German frost, Middle Dutch and Dutch vorst), related to freosan "to freeze," from PIE *preus- "to freeze; burn" (see freeze (v.)). Both forms of the word were common in English till late 15c.; the triumph of frost may be due to its similarity to the forms in other Germanic languages.

v.

1630s, from frost (n.). Related: Frosted; frosting.

frosting in Medicine

frost (frôst)
n.
A deposit of minute ice crystals formed when water vapor condenses at a temperature below freezing.

frosting in Science
frost
  (frôst)   
A deposit of tiny, white ice crystals on a surface. Frost forms through sublimation, when water vapor in the air condenses at a temperature below freezing. It gets its white color from tiny air bubbles trapped in the ice crystals. See more at dew point.
Slang definitions & phrases for frosting

frost

noun
  1. A total failure; something not well received: My idea was a dismal frost (1885+)
  2. Social hauteur; chill; cold shoulder: He smiled at her and got frost (1635+)
verb
  1. : For nifty Mame has frosted me complete (1896+)
  2. To anger; irritate: That tone of voice really frosts me (1940s+)

frosting in the Bible

(Heb. kerah, from its smoothness) Job 37:10 (R.V., "ice"); Gen. 31:40; Jer. 36:30; rendered "ice" in Job 6:16, 38:29; and "crystal" in Ezek. 1:22. "At the present day frost is entirely unknown in the lower portions of the valley of the Jordan, but slight frosts are sometimes felt on the sea-coast and near Lebanon." Throughout Western Asia cold frosty nights are frequently succeeded by warm days. "Hoar frost" (Heb. kephor, so called from its covering the ground) is mentioned in Ex. 16:14; Job 38:29; Ps. 147:16. In Ps. 78:47 the word rendered "frost" (R.V. marg., "great hail-stones"), _hanamal_, occurs only there. It is rendered by Gesenius, the Hebrew lexicographer, "ant," and so also by others, but the usual interpretation derived from the ancient versions may be maintained.