English
frighten
Frighten comes from Middle English *frightenen.
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500*frightenenreconstructed
- Englishearliest quotation 1746frighten
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500*frightenenreconstructed
- Englishearliest quotation 1746frighten
Earliest quotation: 1746, Isaac Kimber, Henry VII: “His Deſign was only to frighten France, and get…”
Formed from fright + -en
Proto-Indo-European *pr̥k- ‘to fear’
Proto-Germanic *furhtį̄ ‘fear’
Old English fryhtu
Middle English fright ‘a fright or scare’
English fright
Every English word from Middle English *frightenen
Today it means
verb To cause to feel fear; to scare; to cause to feel alarm or fright.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Middle English *frightenen / frighten