overwordExplorer
ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

frist.

A certain space or period of time; respite.

5 characters1 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/fɹɪst/
  1. A certain space or period of time; respite.

    countable · obsolete · uncountable
  2. Time allotted for repayment; a term (in which a debt is to be repaid); a delay; respite; suspension.

    UK · countable · dialectal · uncountable
    His was a short frist (He had a short life).
  3. Credit; trust.

    UK · countable · dialectal · uncountable
Where this word comes from

From Middle English *frist, frest, first, furst, from Old English fierst (“period, space of time, time, respite, truce”), from Proto-Germanic *fristiz, *frestą (“date, appointed time”), from Proto-Indo-European *pres-, *per- (“forward, forth, over, beyond”). Cognate with North Frisian ferst, frest (“period, time”), German Frist (“period, deadline, term”), Swedish frist (“deadline, respite, reprieve, time-limit”), Icelandic frestur (“period”). See also first.

verb/fɹɪst/
  1. To grant respite; especially, to give a debtor credit or time for payment.

    UK · dialectal
  2. To defer; postpone.

    UK · ambitransitive · dialectal
Where this word comes from

From Middle English *fristen, frysten, fresten, firsten, from Old English *fyrstan (“to defer, delay, put off”), from fyrst, fierst, first (“period, space of time, time, respite, truce”). See Etymology 1. Cognate with Low German versten, German fristen (“to eke out”), Danish friste (“to sustain, support, experience, tempt”), Icelandic fresta (“to delay”).

FROM WORD TO NAME

Try it on your idea.

frist has 5 characters. Say it out loud, try it alongside a description of your project, and see whether its meaning fits what you want to create.

frist studiofrist workshello, frist

These are naming prompts. Meanings and pronunciation can vary; existing brand and domain uses have not been checked.

Explore the name generator

A word with a source.

Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.