affright
verb
No English definition recorded for this entry.
L307260 on Wikidata ↗Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /əˈfɹaɪt/
adj
Etymology: From Middle English afright, from Old English āfyrht (“terrified; afraid”), past participle of āfyrhtan (“to terrify; make afraid”).
- afraid; terrified; frightened
“So that thou shalt not need I say, to feare or be affright, of all the shafts that Hie by day, nor terrours of the night.”
““Do not be afright,” he continued, after a pause; “do not be afright, my dear young ladies, I am quite harmless—a harmless old man—I would not shed a pigeon's blood.”
noun
Etymology: From Middle English afrighten, from Old English āfyrhtan, equivalent to a- + fright.
- Great fear, terror, fright.
“No one for a moment dreamed of the possible occurrence of any thing in the course of a few hours which would fill every mind with horror, and cause even the dark-hearted Martina to tremble with affright.”
“[…]Then behold, there came up to us a huge fish, as big as a tall mountain, at whose sight we became wild for affright and, weeping sore, made ready for death, marvelling at its vast size and gruesome semblance; when lo! a second fish made its appearance than which we had seen naught more monstrous.”
verb
Etymology: From Middle English afrighten, from Old English āfyrhtan, equivalent to a- + fright.
- To inspire fright in; to frighten, to terrify.
“VVith ſcoffes and ſcornes, and contumelious taunts, / In open Market-place produc't they me, / To be a publique ſpectacle to all: / Here, ſayd they, is the Terror of the French, / The Scar-Crovv that affrights our Children ſo.”
“Let not our babbling dreams affright our souls”