effrayer

Forms

effrayer^[1] Old French esfreder (late 10th century), esfreer (about 1100), esfreier (about 1155); Middle French effroyer (early 14th century).^[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French esfreer, inherited from Vulgar Latin *exfridō, literally “to take out of peace, out of a state of calm”, formed with the privative prefix ex- from Frankish *fridu (“peace”).^[2][3][5][6] The Frankish word is matched by Old High German fridu and German Friede (“peace”).^[2][3] Medieval Latin of the English domain has Medieval Latin exfrediare (“to disturb”), about 1115 according to the TLFi.^[2] The forms esfreier, effroyer and the modern one were remade after the noun effroi (Old French esfrei).^[2][3]

Littré explains the hesitation between ⟨ai⟩ and ⟨oi⟩ as a mixture of dialects: esfraier was the pronunciation of Normandy and the west, esfroier that of Picardy, and the standard language kept the verb with ⟨ai⟩ beside the noun with ⟨oi⟩ and effroyable.^[7] Cognate with Old Occitan esfredar.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first recorded at the end of the 10th century as esfreder in the Passion, in the sense “to trouble, to disturb”, properly “to drive out of a state of calm”.^[2][3][8]

Semantic evolution

The sense “to trouble” belonged to Old French; by extension the verb meant to fill with fear about 1155 (Wace, Saint Nicolas), and by weakening, from the end of the 12th century, to cause worry.^[2][3][8] It could also mean to put someone on guard, to shock.^[3]

The adjective effrayant (1539) followed the same path and is also a familiar intensive, as in un prix effrayant (1764).^[3] English affray “fear, alarm” (about 1300) comes from the Old French noun affrai, esfrei.^[9]

Timeline

• c. 980 – Esfreder “to trouble” appears in the Passion.^[8][2]
• c. 1100 – The Chanson de Roland has esfreer.^[2]
• c. 1140 – The noun esfrei is recorded.^[3]
• c. 1155 – Wace uses esfreier for “to fill with fear”.^[2]
• late 12th century – It means “to cause worry”.^[3][8]
• c. 1300 – English borrows affray from the Old French noun.^[9]
• early 14th century – The form effroyer appears in Macé de la Charité's Bible.^[2]
• 1539 – Effrayant is recorded.^[3]

Meanings

Verb

1. To frighten, to fill with fear: l'orage effrayait les chevaux.^[10][11][12]
2. To worry, to make anxious: la longueur du trajet m'effraie.^[10][12]
3. S'effrayer: to become frightened, to take fright.^[12][7]

Word family

• effrayant
• effroi
• effroyable

Related words

• English affray

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 3, 293a
7. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
8. ^ a b c d Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
9. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
10. ^ a b Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
11. ^ Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
12. ^ a b c Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)