fright
pronunciation
How to pronounce fright in British English:
UK [fraɪt]
How to pronounce fright in American English:
US [fraɪt]
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- Noun:
- an emotion experienced in anticipation of some specific pain or danger (usually accompanied by a desire to flee or fight)
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- Verb:
- cause fear in
Word Origin
- fright
- fright: [OE] Prehistoric Germanic *furkhtaz, an adjective of unknown origin (not related to English fear), meant ‘afraid’. From it was derived a noun *furkhtīn, which was the basis of one of the main words for ‘fear’ among the ancient Germanic languages (not superseded as the chief English term by fear until the 13th century). Its modern descendants include German furcht and English fright (in which the original sequence ‘vowel plus r’ was reversed by the process known as metathesis – something which also happened to Middle Low German vruchte, from which Swedish fruktan and Danish frygt ‘fear’ were borrowed).
- fright (n.)
- Middle English freiht, fright, from Old English (Northumbrian) fryhto, metathesis of Old English fyrhtu "fear, dread, trembling, horrible sight," from Proto-Germanic *furkhtaz "afraid" (cognates: Old Saxon forhta, Old Frisian fruchte, Old High German forhta, German Furcht, Gothic faurhtei "fear"). Not etymologically related to the word fear, which superseded it 13c. as the principal word except in cases of sudden terror. For spelling evolution, see fight (v.).
- fright (v.)
- "to frighten," Middle English, from Old English fyrhtan "to terrify, fill with fear," from the source of fright (n.). Old English also had forhtian "be afraid, become full of fear, tremble," but the primary sense of the verb in Middle English was "to make afraid."
Example
- 1. Investors who take fright can easily shift money abroad .
- 2. Some in china are making light of the fright .
- 3. No wonder the markets took fright only days later .
- 4. Recession will undermine normal politics and create conditions for markets to take fright ( see article ) .
- 5. But as equity markets took fright in september , gold suddenly plunged from a high of $ 1900 an ounce to a brief low of $ 1604 .