Frequent vs. Often

"Ah, women. They make the highs higher and the lows more frequent."
~ Friedrich Nietzsche

"People often say that motivation doesn't last. Well, neither does bathing - that's why we recommend it daily."
~ Zig Ziglar

Often. Frequently. OK writers: What's the difference?

(Thanks to the always loquacious dictionary.com for this week's tidbits!)

Let's start with frequent. In the 1500s, frequent was a french adjective describing ample amounts or crowded rooms. English morphed it into every imaginable part of speech:

The noun: a frequency, a habitual or predictable occurrence, such as radio waves.
The adjective: We take frequent trips to Tyler, Texas. Like the noun, this implies that we travel to Texas at regular intervals.
The adverb: We frequently eat meat. Here, the adverb fosters a sense of habitual or characteristic behavior.
The verb: We frequent the Texas State Fair. Although this style is falling out of usage, it has attracted a Gen X masculine connotation. Several online military and men's groups use it to describe their regular activities.

Paradoxically, frequent is used less frequently than its dictionary hubby, Often.

Often is even older than frequent. We stopped pronouncing the "t" in words like often, listen and soften by the end of the 15th century. Since then, often's usage has distilled into two key categories:
The diminuitive: "Out, damned spot!" is an oft-quoted line from Shakespeare
The adverb: She sings in the festival as often as she can.

The Difference:
Use frequent for events that repeat with the predictability of a pulse.
Use often for events that repeat in vague clusters, such as heart attacks.