Studio711.com – Ben Martens

The Fridge

refrigeratorrunningI had a random thought while putting away the groceries: why do we call that cold box in the kitchen a “refrigerator” instead of just a “frigerator”? What is frigeration and why does this box redo it?

The answer is pretty boring (so I thought it would fit in perfectly with the other blog posts here). The word “refrigerate” comes from the Latin refrigeratus, past participle of refrigerare “make cool or cold.” So the “re” part of the word isn’t the prefix that means to do again.