What does frise mean?
Frise (often written with its French accenting as frisé) is a word borrowed from French that denotes curliness in textiles and animal coats. As a textile term it names a deep-pile fabric or carpet in which the pile is left uncut, so the yarns loop and curl into a dense, springy, textured surface prized in rugs and upholstery. In relation to animals, frise describes a curly or frizzed coat, and it is best known today through the breed name Bichon Frise, the small white companion dog whose trademark cloud-like curls gave the word its modern currency. The word derives ultimately from the French verb friser, meaning to curl or frizz, and it is easily confused with the similarly spelled frieze, which refers instead to an ornamental band of sculpture or painting along a wall. Because it appears chiefly in interior-design and canine contexts, frise is a specialist rather than everyday word, yet its association with both luxurious looped carpeting and one of the world's most recognisable fluffy dogs makes it a charmingly double-lived term.
A deep-pile fabric or carpet with uncut, looping pile that produces a curled, textured surface.
"The antique frise rug had lost none of its springiness after decades of use."
This sense is now largely confined to trade descriptions of rugs and upholstery.
A curly or frizzed coat texture, especially that of certain dog breeds such as the Bichon Frise.
"Judges at the show looked for a truly frise texture in the Bichons' coats."
As a countable noun denoting a fabric or rug type, frise pluralises regularly by adding -s.
"The weaver stocked several frises of different colours."
The fluffy white Bichon Frise owes its cloud-like coat to 'frisé', the very same French word for curly-pile carpets and velvet.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does frise come from?
Frise comes from the French frisé, the past-participial form of the verb friser ('to curl, to frizz'), which itself traces back through Old French; the word was adopted into English for textiles whose pile curls into loops. The same French root gives English 'frizz' and 'frizzy', its closest cognates describing curled hair. Its spelling overlap with 'frieze' is coincidental rather than genetic: frieze entered English from Latin via Italian architecture terminology, while frise arrived through the French craft vocabulary of weaving.
How frise is actually used
In modern usage the word most often appears as part of the breed name Bichon Frise or as 'frisé' describing curly coat textures; the older textile sense survives mainly in trade contexts for certain rugs and upholstery fabrics. It is often written with the acute-accented French form 'frisé'.
Easily confused with frise
'Frieze' (pronounced /friːz/) is a horizontal band of sculpture or painting on a wall, whereas 'frise/frisé' refers to curly pile fabric, rugs, or a curly coat texture.
'Frizzy' is an adjective describing hair that has formed tight, unruly curls, while 'frise/frisé' is a noun naming the curly pile of a fabric, rug, or coat.