Etymograph

English

afraid

Afraid comes from Middle English affrayed, past participle of afraien ‘to affray’, from Anglo-Norman afrayer ‘to terrify’, ultimately from Frankish *friþu ‘peace’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*priHós1‘beloved’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*frijaz1‘free’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*friþuz1‘peace’reconstructed
  4. Frankishc. 250–700*friþu1‘security, peace’reconstructed
  5. Old Frenchc. 842–1400freer1‘to secure’
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400effreer1‘to disturb’
  7. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400afrayer1‘to terrify’
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500afraien1‘to affray’
  9. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500affrayed1past participle of afraien
  10. Englishearliest quotation 1964afraid1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English afraid
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1964, Harry S. Truman, Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum: “I went through the worst Ku Klux proposition in…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*priHósWiktionary, English afraid‘beloved’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*frijazWiktionary, English afraid‘free’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*friþuzWiktionary, English afraid‘peace’reconstructed
  4. Frankishc. 250–700*friþuWiktionary, English afraid‘security, peace’reconstructed
  5. Old Frenchc. 842–1400freerWiktionary, English afraid‘to secure’
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400effreerWiktionary, English afraid‘to disturb’
  7. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400afrayerWiktionary, English afraid‘to terrify’
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500afraienWiktionary, English afraid‘to affray’
  9. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500affrayedWiktionary, English afraidpast participle of afraien
  10. Englishearliest quotation 1964afraidWiktionary, English afraid. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1964, Harry S. Truman, Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum: “I went through the worst Ku Klux proposition in…”

Linked words

through Proto-Germanic *frijōną ‘to free’

free, friendly, 2 more

through Proto-Germanic *friþuz ‘peace’

frith

through Frankish *friþu ‘security, peace’

fray

through Anglo-Norman afrayer ‘to terrify, disquiet, disturb’

affray

Today it means

adj Impressed with fear or apprehension; in fear.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “afraid”. 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 *priHós / afraid

Shirt and support for this word