fraught

fraught · noun¹

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*h₂eyḱ-“to come into possession of, obtain; to own, possess”
2. Proto-Germanic · derived from*aihtiz“acquisition; possessions, property”
3. Proto-Germanic · derived from*fra-aihtiz
4. Middle Low German · derived fromvracht
5. Middle Dutch · derived fromvracht
6. Middle English · derived fromfraught
7. English todayfraught

From Middle English fraught, fraght, freght (“transport of goods or people (usually by water); charge for such transport; facilities for such transport; cargo or passengers of a ship; ballast of a ship; goods in general; (figurative) burden; charge”), from Middle Dutch vracht, vrecht, or Middle Low German vracht, vrecht (“cargo, freight; charge for transport of goods”), from Proto-Germanic *fra-aihtiz, from *fra- (intensifying prefix) + Proto-Germanic *aihtiz (“acquisition; possessions, property”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eyḱ- (“to come into possession of, obtain; to own, possess”)). Doublet of freight. Cognates * Danish fragt * Old English ǣht (“livestock; property; possession; power”) * Old High German frēht (“earnings”) (modern German fracht) * Swedish frakt

fraught · verb, adjective²

1. Middle English · inherited fromfraught
2. Middle Dutch · derived fromvrachten
3. Middle English · inherited fromfraughten
4. English todayfraught

The verb is derived from Middle English fraughten, fraghten, freghten (“to hire (a ship, etc.) for transporting goods; to load (a ship, etc.) with cargo or passengers; to store, stow away; (figurative) to provide an ample supply of (goods, income, etc.)”), from Middle Dutch vrachten, vrechten, from vracht, vrecht (noun) (see etymology 1) + -en (suffix forming infinitives of verbs). The adjective is derived from Middle English fraught, fraght (“burdened, loaded”), the past participle of fraughten, fraghten (verb) (see above).

Words from the same roots