fregar

Inherited from Latin fricāre.

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic) [fɾəˈɣa]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [fɾeˈɣaɾ]

• Audio (Catalonia):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -a(ɾ)

fregar (first-person singular present frego, first-person singular preterite freguí, past participle fregat); root stress: (Central) /ɛ/; (Valencia) /e/; (Balearic) /ə/

1. (transitive, intransitive) to rub
2. (transitive) to graze, to brush
3. (transitive) to wash (dishes)

• “fregar”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007
• “fregar”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2025.
• “fregar” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “fregar” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

First attested in the 15th century. From Latin fricāre. Compare English fray.

• Rhymes: -aɾ
• Hyphenation: fre‧gar

fregar (first-person singular present frego, first-person singular preterite freguei, past participle fregado)

1. to wash (dishes, clothes)
2. to scrub, brush
3. to rub, graze
   • 1409, J. L. Pensado Tomé, editor, Rufus, Jordanus: Tratado de Albeitaria, Santiago de Compostela: Centro Ramón Piñeiro, page 109:

     Et teña a cabeça cuberta senpre con pano de llaã et hu[n]teno ameude fregandoo adefora con manteiga

     And he should have his head always covered with a wool cloth and they should smear him often, rubbing him outside with lard

• frega
• fregaduxo
• freganzo

• esfregar
• refregar

• Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, Ana Isabel Boullón Agrelo (2006–2022) “fregar”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios do galego medieval (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Xavier Varela Barreiro, Xavier Gómez Guinovart (2006–2018) “fregar”, in Corpus Xelmírez - Corpus lingüístico da Galicia medieval (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, editor (2006–2013), “fregar”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega [Dictionary of Dictionaries of the Galician language] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• “fregar”, in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega (in Galician), A Coruña: Royal Galician Academy, 2012–2025
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, editors (2003–2018), “fregar”, in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Rosario Álvarez Blanco, editor (2014–2024), “fregar”, in Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega, →ISSN
• “fregar” in Dicionário Estraviz de galego (2014).

Inherited from Old Spanish fregar, from Latin fricāre. Compare English fray, Italian fregare.

• IPA^(key): /fɾeˈɡaɾ/ [fɾeˈɣ̞aɾ]
• Rhymes: -aɾ
• Syllabification: fre‧gar

fregar (first-person singular present friego, first-person singular preterite fregué, past participle fregado)

1. to wash (dishes)

   Ponte a fregar los platos, que ya hay muchos.

   Start doing the dishes, there's already a lot.

2. to scrub

   fregar el suelo ― to scrub the floor

3. (colloquial, Latin America) to peeve, annoy

   Synonyms: joder, molestar, huevear, cargar

   ¡Dejá de fregar! ― Stop annoying [me]!

   Ella siempre está fregándolo, pero él tiene paciencia.

   She's always annoying him, but he's patient.

• “fregar”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 10 December 2024