The term fracking is based on the word fracture, which first occurred as a verb in the early seventeenth century and relates to Latin fractus, participle of verb frangere meaning ‘to break’. The activity noun fracking describes the process but there’s also some evidence for a transitive verb frack, usually appearing in the passive form or as a participle adjective fracked.

The term fracking is based on the word fracture, which first occurred as a verb in the early seventeenth century and relates to Latin fractus, participle of verb frangere meaning ‘to break’. The activity noun fracking describes the process but there’s also some evidence for a transitive verb frack, usually appearing in the passive form or as a participle adjective fracked.