/ ˈfrɪtə(r); NAmE / verb , noun
■ verb
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PHRASAL VERBS
- fritter sth away (on sth)
■ noun
(usually in compounds) a piece of fruit, meat or vegetable that is covered with batter and fried
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WORD ORIGIN
verb early 18th cent.: based on obsolete fitter break into fragments, shred ; perhaps related to German Fetzen rag, scrap.
noun late Middle English : from Old French friture , based on Latin frigere .