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Today it means

frivolous

not serious

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Where does the word "frivolous" come from? It comes from Latin frivolus, and was adopted directly into English (1400s).

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Where does the word "frivolous" come from? It comes from Latin frivolus, and was adopted directly into English (1400s).

Frivolous’s story begins in Latin: frivolus meant “silly, worthless.” Possibly from 'friare', to crumble. It reached English by 1400s as frivolous. 'frivolous lawsuits' dates from the 1900s. Today, frivolous means not serious.

  1. Stage 1 · Latin · ancient frivolus "silly, worthless", possibly from 'friare', to crumble.
  2. Stage 2 · English · 1400s frivolous "worthless", 'frivolous lawsuits' dates from the 1900s.

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