What makes frangible so much superior to breakable is that when you say the word aloud it sounds delicate. Frangible falls apart on the tongue, like frangipani chocolate.
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Dogberry, what is frangipani chocolate? I am wearing frangipani perfume, but that is a different thing entirely. Are you sure you aren't thinking of marzipan? That said, frangible is a very lovely word, particularly when applied to hearts.
ReplyDeleteAha! The missing link! I've had frangipane tart before -- which didn't contain any frangipani. After reading your post it occurred to me it might mean broken bread. And hours of etymological research show this to be true (well, a few seconds of looking it up on Wikipedia).
ReplyDeleteThe Frangipani family of medieval Rome were so named because they gave bread to the poor. The flower / shrub was named after a sixteenth century member of the family who made perfume.