From Latin frīvolus ( “ silly, empty, trifling, frivolous, worthless ” ) , with the ending modified to match -ous .
IPA (key ) : /ˈfɹɪv.əl.əs/
Hyphenation: friv‧o‧lous
frivolous (comparative more frivolous , superlative most frivolous )
Silly , especially at an inappropriate time or in an inappropriate manner; lacking a good reason for being, or for doing what one does; due to or moved by a whim or caprice .
Of little weight or importance ; not worth notice ; slight ; trivial .
Synonyms: see Thesaurus:insignificant
( law , said of a lawsuit ) Having no reasonable prospect of success because its claim is without merit , lacking a supporting legal or factual basis, while the filing party is, or should be, aware of this.
1996 August 31, Paul F. Waldner, President-Elect, Houston Trial Lawyers Association, “Viewpoints”, in Houston Chronicle [1] :There is no easy definition for the phrase 'frivolous lawsuit,' but I imagine any claim for damages where the injuries are minimal or where the basis for the defendant's liability is hard to believe, might qualify as frivolous .
2005 , Factcheck.org[2] :
One of the major cost drivers in the delivery of health care are these junk and frivolous lawsuits.
silly; especially at an inappropriate time or in an inappropriate manner
Afrikaans: ligsinnig
Arabic:
Egyptian Arabic: جهلان ( gahlān )
Armenian: թեթևամիտ (hy) ( tʻetʻewamit )
Bulgarian: лекомислен (bg) ( lekomislen ) , несериозен (bg) ( neseriozen ) , повърхностен (bg) ( povǎrhnosten )
Catalan: frívol (ca)
Chinese:
Mandarin: 輕狂 / 轻狂 (zh) ( qīngkuáng )
Dutch: frivool (nl) , lichtzinnig (nl) , wuft (nl)
Esperanto: vanta , facilanima
Finnish: naurettava (fi) , typerä (fi) , idioottimainen (fi) , kevytmielinen , hölmö (fi)
French: frivole (fr)
Galician: frívolo
Georgian: არასერიოზული ( araseriozuli ) , დაუფიქრებელი ( daupikrebeli ) , ფუქსავატი ( puksavaṭi )
German: albern (de) ; leichtfertig (de) ; flatterhaft (de) ; ( note that frivol has a sexual connotation )
Greek: επιπόλαιος (el) ( epipólaios ) , ελαφρός (el) ( elafrós )
Ancient: ῥᾴθυμος ( rhā́ithumos )
Ido: frivola (io)
Italian: frivolo (it)
Latin: frīvolus
Latvian: vieglprātīgs , viegls
Macedonian: несерио́зен ( neseriózen ) , леко́мислен ( lekómislen ) , по́вршен ( póvršen )
Malay: semberono , sambil lewa
Maori: ngahangaha , ngākau pāpaku
Norwegian: frivol (no)
Polish: bezmyślny (pl)
Portuguese: frívolo (pt)
Russian: несерьезный (ru) ( neserʹjeznyj ) , легкомысленный (ru) ( lexkomyslennyj ) ; ветреный (ru) ( vetrenyj ) ; пове́рхностный (ru) ( povérxnostnyj )
Scottish Gaelic: faoin
Spanish: frívolo (es)
Swedish: frivol (sv)
Turkish: hoppa (tr) , salak (tr)
of little weight or importance; not worth notice
Armenian: չնչին (hy) ( čʻnčʻin ) , դատարկ (hy) ( datark )
Catalan: frívol (ca) , tonto (ca) , trivial (ca)
Finnish: mitätön (fi) , jonninjoutava (fi)
French: bagatelle (fr) , bricole (fr)
Georgian: უმნიშვნელო ( umnišvnelo )
Greek: ελαφρός (el) ( elafrós )
Latin: frīvolus
Macedonian: незначи́телен ( neznačítelen ) , не́важен ( névažen )
Malay: remeh-temeh
Maori: hangahanga , ngākau pāpaku , aweke , ngahangaha , tihitihi , hauarea
Polish: błahy (pl)
Portuguese: frívolo (pt)
Russian: незначи́тельный (ru) ( neznačítelʹnyj ) , нева́жный (ru) ( nevážnyj ) , пустяковый (ru) ( pustjakovyj )
Scottish Gaelic: faoin
Spanish: frívolo (es) , banal (es) , nimio (es) , trivial (es)
Turkish: boş (tr) , önemsiz (tr) , havai (tr)
“frivolous ”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary , Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam , 1913 , →OCLC .
“frivolous ”, in The Century Dictionary [ … ] , New York, N.Y.: The Century Co. , 1911 , →OCLC .