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Origin and history of affright

affright(v.)

"frighten, terrify, alarm," mid-15c.; see a- (1) + fright (v.). It probably was back-formed from older affright (adj.) "struck with sudden fear" (which is metathesized from Old English afyrht, past participle of afyrhtan "to frighten, terrify"). The doubled -f- is 16c., probably an erroneous Latin correction of a non-Latin word (compare afford). Related: Affrighted; affrighting; affrightment.

also from mid-15c.

Entries linking to affright

afford(v.)

Middle English aforth, from Old English geforðian "to put forth, contribute; further, advance; carry out, accomplish," from ge- completive prefix (which in Middle English regularly reduces to a-; see a- (1)) + forðian "to further," from forð "forward, onward" (see forth).

The prefix shift to af- took place 16c. under mistaken belief that it was a Latin word in ad-; change of -th- to -d- took place late 16c. (and also transformed burthen, spither, murther, etc. into their modern forms).

The notion of "accomplish" (late Old English) gradually became "be able to bear the expense of, have enough money" to do something (late 14c.), and the original senses became obsolete. Of things, "be capable of yielding," 1580s, which is the sense in afford (one) an opportunity. Related: Afforded; affording.

fright(v.)

"to frighten," Middle English, from Old English fyrhtan "to terrify, fill with fear," from the source of fright (n.). Old English had also forhtian "be afraid, become full of fear, tremble," but the primary sense of the verb in Middle English was "to make afraid."

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scare
1590s, "frighten, terrify suddenly," an unusual alteration of Middle English skerren "to frighten" someone (late 12c.), from Old Norse skirra "to frighten; to shrink from, shun; to prevent, avert," which is related to skjarr "timid, shy, afraid of," but of unknown origin. In Scot
panic
"sudden mass terror," especially an exaggerated fright affecting a number of persons without visible cause or inspired by trifling cause or danger, 1708, from an earlier adjective (c. 1600, modifying fear, terror, etc.), from French panique (15c.), from Greek panikon, literally "
terror
early 15c., "something that intimidates, an object of fear," from Old French terreur (14c.), from Latin terrorem (nominative terror) "great fear, dread, alarm, panic; object of fear, cause of alarm; terrible news," from terrere "fill with fear, frighten," from PIE root *tres- "to
stir
Middle English stiren, from Old English styrian, stirian "to move, be or become active or busy, pass into motion," also transitive, "to agitate with a rotating motion (a liquid or mixture by hand or with an instrument), move, change the location of; rouse, agitate, incite, urge;"
fare
Old English fær "journey, road, passage, expedition," from strong neuter of faran "to journey" (see fare (v.)); merged with faru "journey, expedition, companions, baggage," strong fem. of faran. Original sense is obsolete, except in compounds (wayfarer, sea-faring, etc.) Meaning
fear
Middle English fere, from Old English fær "calamity, sudden danger, peril, sudden attack," from Proto-Germanic *feraz "danger" (source also of Old Saxon far "ambush," Old Norse far "harm, distress, deception," Dutch gevaar, German Gefahr "danger"), from PIE *pēr-, a lengthened fo
awe
c. 1300, aue, "fear, terror, great reverence," earlier aghe, c. 1200, from a Scandinavian source, such as Old Norse agi "fright;" from Proto-Germanic *agiz- (source also of Old English ege "fear," Old High German agiso "fright, terror," Gothic agis "fear, anguish"), from PIE *agh
excite
mid-14c., exciten, "to move, stir up, instigate," from Old French esciter (12c.) or directly from Latin excitare "rouse, call out, summon forth, produce," frequentative of exciere "call forth, instigate," from ex "out" (see ex-) + ciere "set in motion, call" (from PIE root *keie-
consternate
"to throw into confusion," 1650s, from Latin consternatus, past participle of consternare "overcome, confuse, dismay, perplex, terrify, alarm," probably related to consternere "throw down, prostrate," from assimilated form of com-, here perhaps an intensive prefix (see com-), + s
shake
Middle English shaken, from Old English sceacan "move (something) quickly to and fro, cause to move with quick vibrations; brandish; move the body or a part of it rapidly back and forth;" also "go, glide, hasten, flee, depart" (as in sceacdom "flight"); also intransitive, of pers

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