Fritting

Part of speech: verb, noun

Definitions

1. The process of melting and fusing materials, especially glass or ceramics, to form a homogeneous substance ; the act of wearing away or crumbling through gradual erosion or friction ; a colloquial term for wasting time or resources unnecessarily
2. The method of blending raw substances by heating until they partially melt ; the gradual deterioration or abrasion of a surface caused by rubbing or friction ; a casual expression for squandering effort or attention without productive outcome
3. The technique of causing particles to partially melt and coalesce by heat ; a slow process of surface wearing due to continuous rubbing ; an informal phrase describing the misuse or dissipation of time or energy without gain

Etymology: "Fritting" is the present participle and gerund of "frit," and the word has three quite different lives. In glassmaking and ceramics, to frit is to heat raw materials until they partly melt and fuse into a mixture that is easier to work with. The verb's origin is uncertain: it may come from French "fritte," from the past participle "frit" meaning "fried," or from Italian "fritta," with the same sense. The other two uses share a surprising source. The verb "to frit" also survived as a dialect past participle of "fright," formed on the model of "bite" and "bit" or "light" and "lit," much as "fit" once served as a past form of "fight." By the late twentieth century that dialect use was largely confined to Lincolnshire, yet in the 1980s the verb entered political slang through the speeches of Margaret Thatcher, who was born in Grantham, a Lincolnshire town. Her usage carried the sense of squandering effort without result, which is the casual meaning most people now hear.

Synonyms: wasting, squandering, dissipating, using up, depleting

Antonyms: saving, conserving, hoarding, preserving, accumulating