fraught

== English == === Pronunciation === (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /fɹɔːt/ (General American) IPA(key): /fɹɔt/ (cot–caught merger) IPA(key): /fɹɑt/ Homophone: frot (cot–caught merger) Rhymes: -ɔːt === Etymology 1 === From Middle English fraught, fraght, freght (“transport of goods or people (usually by water); charge for such transport; facilities for such transport; cargo or passengers of a ship; ballast of a ship; goods in general; (figurative) burden; charge”), from Middle Dutch vracht, vrecht, or Middle Low German vracht, vrecht (“cargo, freight; charge for transport of goods”), from Proto-Germanic *fra-aihtiz, from *fra- (intensifying prefix) + Proto-Germanic *aihtiz (“acquisition; possessions, property”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eyḱ- (“to come into possession of, obtain; to own, possess”)). Doublet of freight. ==== Noun ==== fraught (usually uncountable, plural fraughts) (obsolete, also figurative) (nautical) The hire of a boat or ship to transport cargo. Money paid to hire a vessel for this purpose; freight. Hyponyms: boatage, (dated) shippage The transportation of goods, especially in a boat or ship. Hyponyms: boatage, (dated) shippage A ship's cargo; freight, lading. (obsolete except Scotland) Two bucketfuls. (figurative) A burden, a load. ===== Derived terms ===== ===== Related terms ===== freight === Etymology 2 === The verb is derived from Middle English fraughten, fraghten, freghten (“to hire (a ship, etc.) for transporting goods; to load (a ship, etc.) with cargo or passengers; to store, stow away; (figurative) to provide an ample supply of (goods, income, etc.)”), from Middle Dutch vrachten, vrechten, from vracht, vrecht (noun) (see etymology 1) + -en (suffix forming infinitives of verbs). The adjective is derived from Middle English fraught, fraght (“burdened, loaded”), the past participle of fraughten, fraghten (verb) (see above). ==== Verb ==== fraught (third-person singular simple present fraughts, present participle fraughting, simple past and past participle fraught or fraughted) (transitive) (nautical, obsolete) To load (a boat, ship, or other vessel) with cargo. (figurative, archaic or obsolete) To burden or load (someone or something). (figurative, archaic or obsolete) Followed by with: to furnish or provide (something). Synonyms: equip, supply (Scotland, nautical, obsolete) To hire (a vessel) to transport cargo or passengers. (Scotland, nautical, obsolete) To transport (cargo or passengers) in a vessel; to freight. (intransitive, obsolete) To form the cargo or passengers of a vessel. ===== Conjugation ===== ===== Derived terms ===== ===== Translations ===== ==== Adjective ==== fraught (comparative more fraught or (rare) fraughter, superlative most fraught or (rare) fraughtest) (nautical) Of a boat, ship, or other vessel: laden with cargo. Synonym: freighted Antonyms: unfraught, unfreighted (figurative) Antonym: unfraught Followed by with: carrying, or charged or loaded up with (usually something negative); accompanied by; entailing. Synonym: rife (specifically) Carrying or loaded with anxiety, fear, or stress, for example, due to complexity or difficulty; distressed; also, causing distress; distressing. Synonym: wrought-up Followed by with: furnished, provided. Synonyms: equipped, supplied ===== Derived terms ===== fatefraught, fate-fraught full-fraught overfraught (adjective) unfraught ===== Translations ===== === References === === Further reading === Douglas Harper (2001–2026), “fraught”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.