afraid

== English == === Alternative forms === affrayed (obsolete) 'fraid (aphetic) === Etymology === From Middle English affrayed, affraied, past participle of afraien (“to affray”), from Anglo-Norman afrayer (“to terrify, disquiet, disturb”), from Old French effreer, esfreer (“to disturb, remove the peace from”), from es- (“out”) +‎ freer (“to secure, secure the peace”), from Frankish *friþu (“security, peace”), from Proto-Germanic *friþuz (“peace”), from Proto-Germanic *frijōną (“to free; to love”), from Proto-Indo-European *prāy-, *prēy- (“to like, love”). By surface analysis, affray +‎ -ed. Compare also afeard. More at free, friend. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /əˈfɹeɪd/ Rhymes: -eɪd IPA(key): /əˈfɹɛd/ (Southern US) === Adjective === afraid (comparative more afraid, superlative most afraid) (predicative) Impressed with fear or apprehension; in fear. Synonyms: afeared, alarmed, anxious, apprehensive, fearful, timid, timorous; see also Thesaurus:afraid Regretful, sorry; expressing a reluctance to face an unpleasant situation. [with that (+ clause) or clause; or with so or not] Synonym: sorry Worried about, feeling concern for, fearing for (someone or something). [with for] ==== Usage notes ==== Afraid expresses a lesser degree of fear than terrified or frightened. It is often followed by the preposition of and the object of fear, or by an infinitive, or by a dependent clause, as shown in the examples above. ==== Derived terms ==== ==== Related terms ==== ==== Translations ==== === See also === fear === References === == Welsh == === Etymology === af- (“un-”) +‎ rhaid (“necessity”) === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /ˈavrai̯d/ === Adjective === afraid (feminine singular afraid, plural afraid, equative afreidied, comparative afreidiach, superlative afreidiaf) unnecessary, unessential c. 1500, Ieuan Tew, poem in Cwrt Mawr manuscript no. 5, published and translated 1921 by T. Gwynn Jones, “Cultural Bases. A Study of the Tudor Period in Wales”, Y Cymmrodor. The Magazine of the Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion, vol. 31, page 182: c. 1600, Edmwnd Prys, quoted in A Welsh Grammar, Historical and Comparative by J. Morris Jones, Oxford: 1913, p. 44: Synonyms: diangen, dianghenraid, dieisiau === Noun === afraid m (plural afreidiau) superfluity, extravagance ==== Derived terms ==== afreidiol (“superfluous”) === Mutation === === Further reading === R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke, et al., editors (1950–present), “afraid”, in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies