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af·fright

(ə-frīt)

tr.v. af·fright·ed, af·fright·ing, af·frights

To arouse fear in; terrify: "Many of nature's greatest oddities, that would affright dwellers up here, are accepted down there" (David Mazel).

1. Great fear; terror.

2. A cause of terror.

[Middle English afrighten, from Old English āfyrhtan : ā-, intensive pref. + fyrhtan, to frighten (from fyrhto, fright).]

af·frightment n.

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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