1 definition found
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Fret \Fret\ (fr[e^]t), v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Fretted}; p. pr &
vb n. {Fretting}.] [OE. freten to eat, consume; AS fretan,
for foretan; pref. for- + etan to eat; akin to D. vreten
OHG. frezzan G. fressen, Sw fr["a]ta, Goth. fra-itan. See
{For}, and {Eat}, v. t.]
1. To devour. [Obs.]
The sow frete the child right in the cradle.
--Chaucer.
2. To rub; to wear away by friction; to chafe; to gall;
hence to eat away to gnaw; as to fret cloth; to fret a
piece of gold or other metal; a worm frets the plants of a
ship.
With many a curve my banks I fret. --Tennyson.
3. To impair; to wear away to diminish.
By starts His fretted fortunes give him hope and
fear. --Shak.
4. To make rough, agitate, or disturb; to cause to ripple;
as to fret the surface of water.
5. To tease; to irritate; to vex.
Fret not thyself because of evil doers. --Ps.
xxxvii 1.
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Lake Atitlan, Guatemala
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