Etymograph

English

afear

Afear comes from Middle English aferen ‘to frighten, terrify’, from Old English fǣr ‘sudden danger, calamity, ambush’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *per- ‘to try, dare, risk’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*per-1‘to try, dare, risk’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*fērō1‘danger’reconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150fǣr1‘sudden danger, calamity, ambush’
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150fǣran1‘to frighten’
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150āfǣran1‘to terrify, dismay’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500aferen1‘to frighten, terrify’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1543afear1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English afear
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1543, Henry VIII of England, The Nynthe Article. The Holy Catholike Churche.: “Moreouer the perfit beleue of this article, worketh in…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*per-Wiktionary, English afear‘to try, dare, risk’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*fērōWiktionary, English afear‘danger’reconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150fǣrWiktionary, English afear‘sudden danger, calamity, ambush’
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150fǣranWiktionary, English afear‘to frighten’
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150āfǣranWiktionary, English afear‘to terrify, dismay’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500aferenWiktionary, English afear‘to frighten, terrify’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1543afearWiktionary, English afear. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1543, Henry VIII of England, The Nynthe Article. The Holy Catholike Churche.: “Moreouer the perfit beleue of this article, worketh in…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *per- ‘to try, dare, risk’

first, before, support, per, report, further, price, private, press, far, practice, opportunity, pre, prior, prime, appreciate, port, primary, prize, pregnant, ford, practical, forth, precious, praise, interpretation, privilege, pirate, parade, porch, primitive, prix, par, ferry, fare, pardon, interpreter, pragmatic, privy, prism, 155 more

through Old English fǣran ‘to frighten’

ferd

Today it means

verb To imbue with fear; to affright, to terrify.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “afear”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *per- / afear

Shirt and support for this word