English word afraid comes from Old French effreer (scare, frighten)
Dictionary entry | Language | Definition |
---|---|---|
effreer | Old French (fro) | scare, frighten |
afrayer | Anglo-Norman (xno) | disturb, startle |
afraien | Middle English (enm) | |
affraied | Middle English (enm) | |
afraid | English (en) | (colloquial) regretful, sorry. (usually used predicatively, not attributively) Impressed with fear or apprehension; in fear. |