Have you ever felt a frisson?
Ever felt a sudden, passing sensation of excitement, shudder of emotion, or thrill? There’s a name for it — frisson.
Pronounced free-sohn; or free-sawn, frisson comes from Old French — friçons, a plural noun meaning “trembling (as before the onset of a fever).”
Friçons, in turn comes from Latin — frígére, meaning “to be cold, lack vigour.”
Frisson entered the English in the 18th century.
How Frisson is used
“The movie offers the viewer the occasional frisson of seeing a character in mortal danger.”
“Musical passages that include unexpected harmonies, sudden changes in volume, or the moving entrance of a soloist are particularly common triggers for frisson because they violate listeners’ expectations in a positive way…”
— Mitchell Colver, “Why do only some people get ‘skin orgasms’ from listening to music?” The conversation, May 24, 2016
— dictionary.com
