But, since ’tis only Fred
Who was alive, and is dead,
There’s no more to be said!
Frederick, the usurping duke, father of Celia and uncle of Rosalind. He was about to make war upon his banished brother, when a hermit encountered him, and so completely changed him that he not only restored his brother to his dukedom, but retired to a religious house, and passed the rest of his life in penitence and acts of devotion.—Shakespeare, As You Like It (1598).
Frederick, the unnatural and licentious brother of Alphonso, king of Naples, whose kingdom he usurped. He tried to seduce Evanthé (3 syl.), the chaste wife of Valerio, but not succeeding in his infamous design, he offered her as a concubine for one month to any one who, at the end of that period, would yield his head to the block. As no one would accept the terms, Evanthê was restored to her husband.—Beaumont and Fletcher, A Wife for a Month (1624).
Frederick (Don), a Portuguese merchant, the friend of Don Felix.—Mrs. Centlivre, The Wonder (1714).
Frederick the Great in Flight. In 1741 was the battle of Molwitz, in which the Prussians carried the day, and the Austrians fled; but Frederick, who commanded the cavalry, was put to flight early in the action, and thinking that all was lost, fled with his staff many miles from the scene of action.
Frederick the Great from Molwitz deigned to run.
Byron, Don Juan, viii. 22 (1824.)
Frederick (Olyphant). Young man who has incurred the enmity of one of the Brotherhood of the Sea. In consequence, he is abducted upon the threshold of a friend’s house, and put on board a vessel with directions to the Brotherhood never to allow him to land. He gains his liberty through the accidental drowning of his jailor, and returns to New York, where his absence had excited the wildest alarm among his friends and the most fanciful speculations among acquaintances.—Brander Matthews, The Last Meeting.