(no subject)

[waterspyder]

I am always perplexed as to why the short form of refrigerator is fridge. In particular, where the "d" comes from.

Comments

[spiritonparole.livejournal.com]

I think it's phonetic spelling, as the "ger" in "refrigerator" sounds like the "dger" in "badger."

[feli-valkyria.livejournal.com]

Because English has a habit of not making sense :P

[slobberpuppy.livejournal.com]

Phonetics at their best!

[ironphoenix.livejournal.com]

Well, we often say "refridjerator," not "refrijerator," so adding the d in the contraction follows the norm of spelling contractions as they sound.

Where the "re" comes from is another question: can it only cool stuff that was cool before?

From the online etymological dictionary:
refrigeration: 1471, "act of cooling or freezing," from L. refrigerationem "mitigation of heat," especially in sickness, noun of action from refrigerare, from re- "again" + frigerare "make cool," from frigus (gen. frigoris) "cold." Specifically of "freezing provisions as a means of preserving them" from 1881. Refrigerator "cabinet for keeping food cool" is first recorded 1824, originally in the brewery trade, in place of earlier refrigeratory (1605).