fresco

See also: Fresco

English

A fresco in Toledo, Spain.

Etymology

From Italian fresco, from Vulgar Latin *friscum, from Proto-Germanic *friskaz. Doublet of fresh and frisk.

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈfɹɛskoʊ/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈfɹɛskəʊ/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: (General American) -ɛskoʊ, (Received Pronunciation) -ɛskəʊ
• Hyphenation: fre‧sco

Noun

fresco (countable and uncountable, plural frescos or frescoes or (rare, Italianate) freschi)

1. (countable) A cool, refreshing state of the air; coolness, duskiness, shade.
   • a. 1722 (date written), Matthew Prior, “Hans Carvel”, in The Poetical Works of Matthew Prior […], volume I, London: […] W[illiam] Strahan, […], published 1779, →OCLC, page 124:

     […] I [Satan] cannot ſtay
     Flaring in ſun-ſhine all the day:
     For, entre nous, we helliſh ſprites,
     Love more the freſco of the nights; […]

2. (countable, painting) An artwork made by applying water-based pigment to wet or fresh lime mortar or plaster.
3. (uncountable, painting) The technique used to make such an artwork.

Translations

cool, refreshing state of the air

artwork made by applying water-based pigment to wet or fresh lime mortar or plaster

• Afrikaans: muurskildery, fresko
• Armenian: որմնանկար (hy) (ormnankar)
• Asturian: frescu m
• Bulgarian: фреска (bg) f (freska)
• Catalan: fresc (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 濕壁畫／湿壁画 (shībìhuà)

• Czech: freska (cs) f
• Danish: freske (da) c, fresko c, freskomaleri n
• Dutch: fresco (nl) n
• Esperanto: fresko
• Finnish: fresko (fi)
• French: fresque (fr) f
• Galician: fresco (gl) m
• Georgian: ფრესკა (ka) (presḳa)
• German: Fresko (de) n, Freske (de) f
• Greek: νωπογραφία (el) f (nopografía)
• Hungarian: freskó (hu)
• Italian: affresco (it) m
• Japanese: フレスコ (furesuko)
• Korean: 프레스코 (peureseuko)
• Macedonian: фре́ска f (fréska)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: fresko m

  Nynorsk: fresko m

• Polish: fresk (pl) m, al fresco (pl) n
• Portuguese: afresco (pt) m
• Romanian: frescă (ro) f
• Russian: фре́ска (ru) f (fréska)
• Spanish: fresco (es) m
• Swedish: fresk (sv) c, freskomålning (sv) c
• Turkish: fresk (tr)

technique used to make such an artwork

• Armenian: որմնանկարչություն (hy) (ormnankarčʻutʻyun)
• Asturian: frescu m
• Bulgarian: фреско n (fresko)
• Catalan: fresc (ca) m
• Dutch: fresco (nl) n
• Finnish: fresko (fi)
• French: fresque (fr) f
• Galician: fresco (gl) m
• German: Freskomalerei (de) f
• Greek: νωπογραφία (el) f (nopografía)
• Hungarian: freskó (hu)
• Italian: affresco (it) m
• Macedonian: фре́ска f (fréska)
• Malay: fresko
• Polish: fresk (pl) m, al fresco (pl) n
• Portuguese: afresco (pt) m
• Romanian: frescă (ro) f
• Russian: фре́ска (ru) f (fréska)
• Spanish: fresco (es) m

Verb

fresco (third-person singular simple present frescoes, present participle frescoing, simple past and past participle frescoed)

1. (transitive, intransitive) To paint using fresco.

Translations

to paint using fresco

• Italian: affrescare (it)
• Macedonian: фреско́сува (freskósuva), живопи́сува (živopísuva)

See also

• al fresco
• fresco on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Anagrams

• Cofers, corfes, forces

Asturian

Adjective

fresco

1. neuter of frescu

Dutch

Etymology

From Italian fresco, from Vulgar Latin *friscum, from Proto-Germanic *friskaz. Doublet of vers and fris.

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: fres‧co

Noun

fresco n (plural fresco's, diminutive frescootje n)

1. fresco

Galician

Etymology

From Old Galician-Portuguese fresco (13th century, Cantigas de Santa Maria), from Vulgar Latin *friscum.

Fresco, as a painting technique, was taken from Italian fresco.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈfɾesko/ [ˈfɾes̺.kʊ]
• Rhymes: -esko
• Hyphenation: fres‧co

Noun

fresco m (plural frescos, feminine fresca, feminine plural frescas)

1. (uncountable) cool moderate or refreshing state of cold
2. (uncountable, feminine) cool in the morning or in the evening (during the summer)
3. (painting) fresco

Related terms

• ao fresco

Adjective

fresco (feminine fresca, masculine plural frescos, feminine plural frescas)

1. fresh, recent, young, rested
   • 1295, Ramón Lorenzo, editor, La traducción gallega de la Crónica General y de la Crónica de Castilla, Ourense: I.E.O.P.F., page 657:

     Et cada dia, depoys que esto fezo, parouse sua cara et seu corpo mays fresco

     And every day, after doing this, his face and his body were younger

   • 1434, M. Lucas Alvarez & M. J. Justo Martín (eds.), Fontes documentais da Universidade de Santiago de Compostela. Pergameos da serie Bens do Arquivo Histórico Universitario (Anos 1237-1537). Santiago: Consello da Cultura Galega, page 350:

     E non enperqua o "septe rogo", que se borrou estando fresquo, que paresçe que foy raydo

     and [whoever reads this text] don't mistrust the "septe rogo", because it faded when fresh, although it looks as it was deleted

2. untransformed, not artificiality preserved (meat, fish)
   • 1291, Enrique Cal Pardo, editor, Colección diplomática medieval do arquivo da catedral de Mondoñedo, Santiago: Consello da Cultura Galega, page 79:

     La quartillos de salgada et xx quartillos de fresca [...] et disso que da fresca marmara iiii quartillos ao salgar

     50 quarters of salted [fish] and 20 quarters of fresh [fish] [...] and he said that the fresh one diminished 4 quarter after salting

3. cool (temperature)
4. impertinent

Derived terms

• Fresco
• frescoallo (“fresh meat characteristic smell”)
• frescor (“freshness”)
• frescura (“freshness”)
• fresqueira
• fresquío (“fresh meat characteristic smell”)
• refrescar (“to cool; to refresh”)

 

Further reading

• “fresco”, in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega (in Galician), A Coruña: Royal Galician Academy, 2012–2024
• “fresco” in Dicionário Estraviz de galego (2014).

References

• Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, Ana Isabel Boullón Agrelo (2006–2022) “fresco”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios do galego medieval (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Xavier Varela Barreiro, Xavier Gómez Guinovart (2006–2018) “fresc”, in Corpus Xelmírez - Corpus lingüístico da Galicia medieval (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: ILG
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, editor (2006–2013), “fresco”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega [Dictionary of Dictionaries of the Galician language] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, editors (2003–2018), “fresco”, in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Rosario Álvarez Blanco, editor (2014–2024), “fresco”, in Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega, →ISSN

Interlingua

Noun

fresco (plural frescos)

1. fresco (painting)

Italian

Etymology

Inherited from Vulgar Latin *friscum.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈfre.sko/

• Audio::

  (file)

• Rhymes: -esko
• Hyphenation: fré‧sco

Adjective

fresco (feminine fresca, masculine plural freschi, feminine plural fresche, superlative freschissimo)

1. fresh
2. cool
3. wet, fresh (of paint)

   Antonym: asciutto

Descendants

• → Dalmatian: fresc (probably)

Noun

fresco m (plural freschi)

1. coolness, freshness, cool
2. light wool material
3. (informal) cooler (prison)

   stare al fresco ― to be in the cooler

Antonyms

• caldo

Derived terms

• affrescare
• al fresco
• freschezza
• frescura
• rinfrescare

 

Descendants

• → Asturian: frescu
• → Bulgarian: фреско (fresko)
• → Danish: fresko
• → Dutch: fresco
• → English: fresco
• → Esperanto: fresko
• → French: fresque
  • → German: Freske
  • → Norwegian Bokmål: freske (or via German)
  • → Norwegian Nynorsk: freske (or via German)
  • → Polish: fresk
  • → Romanian: frescă
  • → Turkish: fresk
• → Galician: fresco
• → German: Fresko
  • → Hungarian: freskó
• → Japanese: フレスコ (furesuko)
• → Korean: 프레스코 (peureseuko)
• → Malay: fresko
• → Norwegian Bokmål: fresko
• → Norwegian Nynorsk: fresko
• → Portuguese: fresco, afresco
• → Spanish: fresco

Anagrams

• scrofe

Portuguese

Etymology 1

From Old Galician-Portuguese fresco, from Vulgar Latin *friscum.

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈfɾes.ku/

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈfɾes.ku/
  • (Rio de Janeiro) IPA^(key): /ˈfɾeʃ.ku/
  • (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈfɾes.ko/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈfɾeʃ.ku/

• Rhymes: (Brazil) -esku, (Portugal, Rio de Janeiro) -eʃku
• Hyphenation: fres‧co

Adjective

fresco (feminine fresca, masculine plural frescos, feminine plural frescas)

1. fresh (new or clean)
2. (of plant material) fresh (of produce, not from storage)
3. cool (having a slightly low temperature)
4. (slang) fussy (tending to complain about petty details)
5. (slang, derogatory) effeminate; fruity

Derived terms

• frescor
• frescura
• frescurento
• fresquidão
• refrescar
• refresco

 

Noun

fresco m (plural frescos, feminine fresca, feminine plural frescas)

1. (slang) fusser
2. (slang, derogatory) effeminate

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Italian fresco.

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈfɾes.ku/

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈfɾes.ku/
  • (Rio de Janeiro) IPA^(key): /ˈfɾeʃ.ku/
  • (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈfɾes.ko/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈfɾeʃ.ku/

• Rhymes: (Brazil) -esku, (Portugal, Rio de Janeiro) -eʃku
• Hyphenation: fres‧co

Noun

fresco m (plural frescos)

1. (painting, chiefly Portugal) fresco

   Synonym: afresco

Etymology 3

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈfɾɛs.ku/

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈfɾɛs.ku/
  • (Rio de Janeiro) IPA^(key): /ˈfɾɛʃ.ku/
  • (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈfɾɛs.ko/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈfɾɛʃ.ku/

• Rhymes: (Brazil) -ɛsku, (Portugal, Rio de Janeiro) -ɛʃku
• Hyphenation: fres‧co

Verb

fresco

1. first-person singular present indicative of frescar

Quotations

For quotations using this term, see Citations:fresco.

Further reading

• “fresco”, in iDicionário Aulete (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2024
• “fresco” in Dicionário Aberto based on Novo Diccionário da Língua Portuguesa de Cândido de Figueiredo, 1913
• “fresco”, in Dicio – Dicionário Online de Português (in Portuguese), Porto: 7Graus, 2009–2024
• “fresco”, in Dicionário inFormal (in Portuguese), 2006–2024
• “fresco”, in Dicionário infopédia da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Porto: Porto Editora, 2003–2024
• “fresco”, in Michaelis Dicionário Brasileiro da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), São Paulo: Editora Melhoramentos, 2015–2024
• “fresco”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2024

Spanish

Etymology

Inherited from Vulgar Latin *friscum.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈfɾesko/ [ˈfɾes.ko]

• Audio (Colombia):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -esko
• Syllabification: fres‧co

Adjective

fresco (feminine fresca, masculine plural frescos, feminine plural frescas)

1. fresh
2. cool (temperature)

   Synonym: frío

3. cheeky

   Synonym: insolente

Derived terms

• agua fresca
• aire fresco
• al fresco
• boquifresco
• estar más fresco que una lechuga
• estar más fresco que una rosa
• frescachón
• frescor
• frescura
• fresquito
• leche fresca
• quedarse tan fresco
• queso fresco
• refrescar
• traer al fresco

 

Descendants

• → Belizean Creole: fresko
• → Bikol Central: presko

Noun

fresco m (plural frescos)

1. (weather) strong breeze
2. fresco (painting)
3. (Bolivia, Central America, Ecuador, Peru) soda, soft drink

   Synonyms: gaseosa, refresco, chesco, bebida

Further reading

• “fresco”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.7, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2023 November 28