4 ms·

I was always under the impression that the word "frosh" was weird slang for freshmen, not a word considered just as proper for written communication.

BlueScreenDeath 6y ago
Although frosh refers to a first-year student and has a resemblance to fresh, freshman is not believed to be the source of the word. More likely, frosh is from the dialectic German word for a frog, Frosch. ... Students already had a slang term for freshman, the diminutive freshie.
- neltnerb 6y ago
  The question "what it is slang for" is different from the question "what is the word derived from". The prior may well change if everyone has a group delusion and believes it is slang for something different. The latter obviously not.
danso 6y ago
My immediate thought to your comment was that "frosh" is actually very common and accepted slang for "freshmen". That said, I did not expect to see it in the article's lede – or in the president's official statement [0]: > We will continue planning with the hope and expectation of bringing undergraduates back to Stanford at the earliest possible time. If public health conditions allow, we plan to invite frosh, sophomores and new transfer students to be in residence on campus for the winter quarter, and juniors and seniors for the spring quarter. [0] https://healthalerts.stanford.edu/covid-19/2020/08/13/autumn-update/ https://healthalerts.stanford.edu/covid-19/2020/08/13/autumn...
- TechBro8615 6y ago
  I imagine that's because "freshmen" is problematic in $CURRENT_YEAR, but it sounds too weird to say "freshpeople" so they went with the existing slang of "frosh."
  - danso 6y ago
    Considering it's a term that originated centuries before women were first allowed to attend college, I suppose it's reasonable to argue it has been long obsolete to the point of being problematic.
  - gedy 6y ago
    Doubleplusfresh
fortran77 6y ago
They say "frosh" now because "freshmen" is gender-specific. Many schools do this.
- neltnerb 6y ago
  I've only ever seen schools switch from freshman to "first year". Frosh is slang.
- tantalor 6y ago
  University administrators have now begun the process of replacing the terms “freshman” and “upperclassman” with the gender-neutral terms “first year” and “upper-level students” in official campus publications... “It’s really for public, formal correspondence and formal publications … we’re not trying to tell people what language to use in their everyday casual conversations,” Chun said. “We’re not trying to be language police.” https://yaledailynews.com/blog/2017/09/15/yale-formalizes-freshman-to-first-year-change/ https://yaledailynews.com/blog/2017/09/15/yale-formalizes-fr...

BlueScreenDeath 6y ago

Although frosh refers to a first-year student and has a resemblance to fresh, freshman is not believed to be the source of the word. More likely, frosh is from the dialectic German word for a frog, Frosch. ... Students already had a slang term for freshman, the diminutive freshie.

neltnerb 6y ago
The question "what it is slang for" is different from the question "what is the word derived from". The prior may well change if everyone has a group delusion and believes it is slang for something different. The latter obviously not.

danso 6y ago

My immediate thought to your comment was that "frosh" is actually very common and accepted slang for "freshmen". That said, I did not expect to see it in the article's lede – or in the president's official statement [0]: > We will continue planning with the hope and expectation of bringing undergraduates back to Stanford at the earliest possible time. If public health conditions allow, we plan to invite frosh, sophomores and new transfer students to be in residence on campus for the winter quarter, and juniors and seniors for the spring quarter. [0] https://healthalerts.stanford.edu/covid-19/2020/08/13/autumn-update/ https://healthalerts.stanford.edu/covid-19/2020/08/13/autumn...

TechBro8615 6y ago
I imagine that's because "freshmen" is problematic in $CURRENT_YEAR, but it sounds too weird to say "freshpeople" so they went with the existing slang of "frosh."
- danso 6y ago
  Considering it's a term that originated centuries before women were first allowed to attend college, I suppose it's reasonable to argue it has been long obsolete to the point of being problematic.
- gedy 6y ago
  Doubleplusfresh

fortran77 6y ago

They say "frosh" now because "freshmen" is gender-specific. Many schools do this.

neltnerb 6y ago
I've only ever seen schools switch from freshman to "first year". Frosh is slang.
tantalor 6y ago
University administrators have now begun the process of replacing the terms “freshman” and “upperclassman” with the gender-neutral terms “first year” and “upper-level students” in official campus publications... “It’s really for public, formal correspondence and formal publications … we’re not trying to tell people what language to use in their everyday casual conversations,” Chun said. “We’re not trying to be language police.” https://yaledailynews.com/blog/2017/09/15/yale-formalizes-freshman-to-first-year-change/ https://yaledailynews.com/blog/2017/09/15/yale-formalizes-fr...