afeard

English

Alternative forms

• afeared, affeard, affeared

Etymology

Etymology tree

English afear

English -ed

English afeard

From afear + -ed.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /əˈfɪə(ɹ)d/

Adjective

afeard (comparative more afeard, superlative most afeard)

1. (archaic or dialectal) Afraid.
   • c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene ii]:

     Pray you pass with your best violence;
     I am afeard you make a wanton of me.

   • 1876, Mark Twain [pseudonym; Samuel Langhorne Clemens], chapter XXV, in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Hartford, Conn.: The American Publishing Company, →OCLC, page 197:

     I feel as if something’s behind me all the time; and I’m afeard to turn around, becuz maybe there’s others in front a-waiting for a chance.

   • 2009, John Hough, Jr., Seen the Glory‎^[1] (Fiction), Simon and Schuster, →ISBN, page 192:

     He's afeard of you, Luke. Don't you know that?

Derived terms

• unafeard

Related terms

• afear

Anagrams

• afared

Scots

Alternative forms

• afeart, afeared

Etymology

From Middle English afered, past participle of aferen, chiefly archaic. The aphetic forms feard, feart, are more common.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /əˈfiːrd/, /əˈfiːrt/

Adjective

afeard (comparative mair afeard, superlative maist afeard)

1. (archaic) struck with fear; afraid

Verb

afeard

1. (archaic) simple past and past participle of afear

References

• “afeard, ppl.adj.”, in The Dictionary of the Scots Language, Edinburgh: Scottish Language Dictionaries, 2004–present, →OCLC.