It was of those moments of intense feeling when the frost of the
Scottish people melts like a snow wreath.
Sir W. Scott.
Black frost, cold so intense as to freeze vegetation and cause it to
turn black, without the formation of hoarfrost. -- Frost bearer
(Physics), a philosophical instrument illustrating the freezing of
water in a vacuum; a cryophorus. -- Frost grape (Bot.), an American
grape, with very small, acid berries. -- Frost lamp, a lamp placed
below the oil tube of an Argand lamp to keep the oil limpid on cold
nights; -- used especially in lighthouses. Knight. -- Frost nail, a
nail with a sharp head driven into a horse's shoe to keep him from
slipping. -- Frost smoke, an appearance resembling smoke, caused by
congelation of vapor in the atmosphere in time of severe cold.
The brig and the ice round her are covered by a strange black
obscurity: it is the frost smoke of arctic winters.
Kane.
-- Frost valve, a valve to drain the portion of a pipe, hydrant, pump,
etc., where water would be liable to freeze. -- Jack Frost, a popular
personification of frost.
Frost (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Frosted; p. pr. & vb. n. Frosting.] 1.
To injure by frost; to freeze, as plants.
2. To cover with hoarfrost; to produce a surface resembling frost upon,
as upon cake, metals, or glass.
While with a hoary light she frosts the ground.
Wordsworth.
3. To roughen or sharpen, as the nail heads or calks of horseshoes, so
as to fit them for frosty weather.
Frost"bird (?), n. (Zoˆl.) The golden plover.
Frost"bite (?), n. The freezing, or effect of a freezing, of some part
of the body, as the ears or nose. Kane. [1913 Webster]
Frost`bite", v. t. To expose to the effect of frost, or a frosty air;
to blight or nip with frost.
My wife up and with Mrs. Pen to walk in the fields to frostbite
themselves.
Pepys.
Frost`-bit"ten (?), p. a. Nipped, withered, or injured, by frost or
freezing.
Frost`-blite" (?), n. (Bot.) (a) A plant of the genus Atriplex; orache.
Gray. (b) The lamb's- quarters (Chenopodium album). Dr. Prior.
Frost"ed, a. Covered with hoarfrost or anything resembling hoarfrost;
ornamented with frosting; also, frost-bitten; as, a frosted cake;
frosted glass.
Frosted work is introduced as a foil or contrast to burnished work.
Knight.
Frost`fish" (?), n. (Zoˆl.) (a) The tomcod; -- so called because it is
abundant on the New England coast in autumn at about the commencement
of frost. See Tomcod. (b) The smelt. [Local, U. S.] (c) A name applied
in New Zealand to the scabbard fish (Lepidotus) valued as a food fish.
Frost"i*ly (?), adv. In a frosty manner.
Frost"i*ness, n. State or quality of being frosty.
Frost"ing, n. 1. A composition of sugar and beaten egg, used to cover
or ornament cake, pudding, etc.
2. A lusterless finish of metal or glass; the process of producing such
a finish.
Frost"less, a. Free from frost; as, a frostless winter.
Frost"weed` (?), n. (Bot.) An American species of rockrose
(Helianthemum Canadense), sometimes used in medicine as an astringent
or aromatic tonic.
It has large yellow flowers which are often sterile, and later it has
abundant but inconspicuous flowers which bear seed. It is so called
because, late in autumn, crystals of ice shoot from the cracked bark at
the root; -- called also frostwort.
Frost`work" (?), n. The figurework, often fantastic and delicate, which
moisture sometimes forms in freezing, as upon a window pane or a
flagstone.
Frost`wort" (?), n. (Bot.) Same as Frostweed.
Frost"y (?), a. [Cf. AS. fyrstig.] 1. Attended with, or producing,
frost; having power to congeal water; cold; freezing; as, a frosty
night.