English edit

Alternative forms edit

Etymology edit

From Middle English fremde, fremede (strange, foreign), from Old English fremde, fremede, fremeþe (foreign, strange), from Proto-Germanic *framaþiz (foreign, not one's own). Cognate with Scots fremmit, frempt (fremd), West Frisian frjemd (strange, fremd), Dutch vreemd (strange, foreign), German fremd (fremd, strange, foreign), Swedish främmande (foreign, outlandish, strange). More at from.

Pronunciation edit

Adjective edit

fremd (comparative fremder or more fremd, superlative fremdest or most fremd)

  1. (rare, chiefly dialectal) Strange, unusual, out of the ordinary; unfamiliar.
    a fremd day
    Something fremd has been going on here.
    A fremd man this.
    • 1892, Haldane Burgess, Rasmie's Büddie, section 43:
      Pits it i' da fremd-man's hert.
  2. (rare, chiefly dialectal) Not kin, unrelated; foreign.
    • 1851, Mrs. Oliphant (Margaret), Passages in the life of Mrs. Margaret Maitland of Sunnyside:
      [...] seeing that they were fremd in heart, if they were kin in blood.
    • 1868, Legh Knight, Tonic Bitters: A Novel, page 181:
      The doctor went up to the bed, and said, firmly, " Miss Garnock, you must not keep Mr. Yonge any longer." "Who'll he be that comes meddling between me and my Tar?" shrieked the patient. "Mither, bid yon fremd body gang his ways. I'll no be fashed wi' him the day."
    • 1873, Blackwood's Edinburgh magazine:
      [...] and if I'm to be no more hereafter to them that belong to me, than to legions of strange angels, or a whole nation of fremd folk!
    • 1873, Heathergate, Heathergate, page 66:
      There's room for everybody in the world, I suppose, and something for everybody to do, and it behoves them that have few kin to make the more friends of fremd folk.
    • 1875, John Howard Nodal, George Milner, A glossary of the Lancashire dialect:
      Thus, a person living with a family to whom he is not related is termed "a fremd body." If it were asked, "Is he akin to you?" the answer would be, "Nawe, he's fremd," i.e. "he's one of us, but not a relation."
  3. (obsolete) Wild; untamed.

Derived terms edit

Noun edit

fremd (plural fremds)

  1. (rare or dialectal) A stranger; someone who is not a relative; a guest.
  2. (archaic or obsolete) An enmity.

References edit

  • 1906, The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia, "fremd".
  • 1883, The Imperial Dictionary of the English Language, "fremde, fremed".

German edit

Alternative forms edit

Etymology edit

From Middle High German vremde, vremede, from Old High German fremidi, from Proto-Germanic *framaþiz. Cognate with English fremd, Dutch vreemd.

Pronunciation edit

Adjective edit

fremd (strong nominative masculine singular fremder, comparative fremder, superlative am fremdesten)

  1. strange
  2. foreign
    • 2010, Der Spiegel[1], number 28/2010, page 93:
      Fast alle Amerikaner können ihre Wurzeln in fremde Länder zurückverfolgen, und deshalb ist Einwanderung ein Thema, das die Identität der USA auf besondere Weise berührt.
      Nearly all Americans can trace back their roots into foreign countries, and therefore immigration is an issue that touches the identity of the US in a special way.
  3. external

Declension edit

Derived terms edit

Further reading edit

  • fremd” in Duden online
  • fremd” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache

Icelandic edit

Noun edit

fremd f (genitive singular fremdar)

  1. furtherance, honour

Middle English edit

Adjective edit

fremd

  1. Alternative form of fremde

Scots edit

Adjective edit

fremd

  1. Alternative form of fremmit