Etymology

affright

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Today it means: Great fear, terror, fright. Full definition →

Middle English afrighten ← Old English āfyrhtan
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affright · noun, verb1

  1. Old English · inherited fromāfyrhtan
  2. Middle English · inherited fromafrighten
  3. English todayaffright

From Middle English afrighten, from Old English āfyrhtan, equivalent to a- + fright.

affright · adjective2

  1. Old English · inherited fromāfyrht“terrified; afraid”
  2. Middle English · inherited fromafright
  3. English todayaffright

From Middle English afright, from Old English āfyrht (“terrified; afraid”), past participle of āfyrhtan (“to terrify; make afraid”).

Words from the same roots

Middle Englishafright all →

fright

Old Englishāfyrht all →

fright

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.