entry
fridge
/frɪdʒ/informal shortening of refrigerator
From Latin refriger (to cool again) + Latin frigid (cold).
Word Ancestry
A refrigerator got shortened so hard it came out looking as if it had always belonged beside bridge and ridge. That little twist is the whole story: English clipped refrigerator into fridge in the 1920s, but the new shape may also have been encouraged by Frigidaire, the shiny brand name that turned cold into advertising glamour. Underneath that lies Latin frigidus, the ancestor of frigid, frigidity, and all the other frosty words that make you feel a draft just by reading them. There is even a deeper root behind the coldness — Proto-Indo-European *srig-, the ancient idea of chill. So when you say fridge, you are really hearing a word that lost two syllables, borrowed a bit of brand sparkle, and still keeps a fossilized breath of winter in its middle.
The Story
A refrigerator got shortened so hard it came out looking as if it had always belonged beside bridge and ridge. That little twist is the whole story: English clipped refrigerator into fridge in the 1920s, but the new shape may also have been encouraged by Frigidaire, the shiny brand name that turned cold into advertising glamour. Underneath that lies Latin frigidus, the ancestor of frigid, frigidity, and all the other frosty words that make you feel a draft just by reading them. There is even a deeper root behind the coldness — Proto-Indo-European *srig-, the ancient idea of chill. So when you say fridge, you are really hearing a word that lost two syllables, borrowed a bit of brand sparkle, and still keeps a fossilized breath of winter in its middle.
Modern Usage
to kill, sideline, or remove a character from a story for another character's emotional motivation
Popularized by: Gail Simone and the comic-book discussion around 'women in refrigerators'
Notable References
- Green Lantern vol. 3, issue 54 (1994)
- Gail Simone's 'Women in Refrigerators'
Kin & Kindred
From 'refriger'·to cool again; chill
Derived Terms
English words from this root
From 'frigid'·cold; chill; frosty
Derived Terms
English words from this root