refret

refret · verb¹

From re- + fret.

refret · noun²

1. Old French · derived fromrefreit“refrain”
2. Anglo-Norman · derived fromrefreit“response”
3. Middle English · inherited fromrefreit
4. English todayrefret

From Middle English refreit, from Anglo-Norman refreit (“response”), refraindre (“to sing a refrain”); also Old French refreit (“refrain”). The Oxford English Dictionary suggests influence from an unattested Late Latin form, refrangere; compare Latin refractus (past participle). See refrain (noun), refract.