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freak

n. · v. · adj.
US //ˈfɹik// UK //fɹˈiːk// freak
  1. 1 an unusual person (n.)
    B2 Upper Intermediate Informal

    a person who looks or behaves in a very strange way.

    a person who is markedly unusual in appearance or social behaviour; often used as a derogatory label for an outsider.

    Example

    He felt like a freak because he didn't like the same music as his friends.

    Example

    In high school, anyone who didn't conform to the popular social norms was quickly labelled a freak by the dominant social groups.
    • conformist
  2. 2 an enthusiast (n.)
    B2 Upper Intermediate Informal

    someone who is extremely interested in or obsessed with a specific thing.

    an enthusiast or person who possesses an obsessive interest in or extreme knowledge of a particular subject.

    Example

    My brother is a total fitness freak who spends every morning at the gym.

    Example

    As a self-proclaimed control freak, the manager insisted on reviewing every single email before it was sent to the client.
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  1. 3 to panic or lose control (v.)
    B2 Upper Intermediate Slang Informal

    to suddenly become very angry, scared, or excited.

    to experience or cause a sudden, extreme emotional reaction, typically involving distress or loss of composure.

    Example

    Don't freak out, but I think I lost the car keys.

    Example

    The witness began to freak out under the pressure of the cross-examination, eventually contradicting her earlier testimony.

    Usage

    Often used with the particle 'out'.
  2. 4 very unusual or accidental (adj.)
    B2 Upper Intermediate

    something very strange or unlikely that happens by chance.

    describing an event that is highly unusual, unexpected, or seemingly random.

    Example

    The match was cancelled after a freak storm flooded the entire field.

    Example

    The investigators concluded that the crash was a freak accident caused by a simultaneous failure of three independent backup systems.
Etymology 1

First appears c. 1567. The sense "sudden change of mind, a whim" is of uncertain origin. Probably from a dialectal word related to Middle English frekynge (“capricious behavior; whims”) and Middle English friken, frikien (“to move briskly or nimbly”), from Old English frician (“to leap, dance”), or Middle English frek (“insolent, daring”), from Old English frec (“desirous, greedy, eager, bold, daring”), from Proto-West Germanic frek, from Proto-Germanic frekaz, *frakaz (“hard, efficient, greedy, bold, audacious”) (in which case, it would be related to the noun under Etymology 2). Compare Old High German freh (“eager”), Old English frēcne (“dangerous”). For the meaning development compare Russian заско́к (zaskók) akin to скок (skok), скака́ть (skakátʹ).

Etymology 2

From Middle English freke, freike (“a bold man, warrior, man, creature”), from Old English freca (“a bold man, warrior, hero”), from Proto-Germanic frekô (“an active or eager man, warrior, wolf”), from frekaz (“active, bold, desirous, greedy”), from Proto-Indo-European pereg-, spereg- (“to shrug, be quick, twitch, splash, blast”). Cognate with Old Norse freki (“greedy or avaricious one, a wolf”), Old High German freh (“eager”), German frech, Old English frēcne (“dangerous, daring, courageous, bold”).

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