Etymologically
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afraid

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /əˈfreɪd/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English affraied, the past participle of the now obsolete verb afray “to frighten”,[2][3][4] used as an adjective after borrowed from Anglo-Norman afrayé,[4][5] from Old French esfreer “to worry, disturb, frighten”,[2][6] from Vulgar Latin *exfridāre, a hybrid meaning literally “to take out of peace”,[2][7] from Latin ex- “out of” and Frankish *friþu (“peace”),[2] from Proto-Germanic *friþuz (“peace, forbearance”),[2] from a suffixed form of Proto-Indo-European *prī- (“to be friendly, to love”).[2] Barnhart compares its formation with laid and said.[6] It is related to fray and friend.[2][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Alarmed, frightened: 1330 in the OED,[8] early 14th century in Etymonline,[2] and about 1300 in Guy of Warwick according to Barnhart.[6]

Semantic evolution

It is a rare case of an English adjective that never stands before a noun.[2] Its use in the King James Bible gave it independent standing, so that it thrived while affray faded, and it drove out the once more common afeard.[2][4] With of it is recorded from 1350,[8] and with an infinitive, “not having the courage to”, from 1535.[8] The polite I'm afraid, “I regret to say”, without any implication of fear, is recorded by the 1590s.[2] In Irish and other dialect English it was used as a conjunction meaning “lest, for fear that”.[9] Johnson thought it should properly be written with ff, as coming from affray.[10]

Timeline

  • 1330 – frightened.[8]
  • 1350 – afraid of.[8]
  • 1535 – not daring to.[8]
  • 1590s – I'm afraid, I regret to say.[2]

Modern meaning

Adjective

  1. Filled with fear.
  2. Unwilling or reluctant: afraid of hard work.
  3. Filled with regret or concern, used to soften an unwelcome statement: I'm afraid I can't come.

Word family

  • unafraid

Usage notes

The American Heritage sets afraid beside apprehensive and fearful, which share the central meaning “filled with fear”.[7]

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ a b c Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  6. ^ a b c d Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  7. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  8. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  9. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)
  10. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.