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fret |
9 definitions found From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: Fret \Fret\ (fr[e^]t), n. [Obs.] See 1st {Frith}. 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. From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: Fret \Fret\, n. [F. frette a saltire, also a hoop, ferrule, prob. a dim. of L. ferrum iron. For sense 2, cf also E. fret to rub.] 1. (Her.) A saltire interlaced with a mascle. 2. (Mus.) A short piece of wire, or other material fixed across the finger board of a guitar or a similar instrument, to indicate where the finger is to be placed. From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: Fret \Fret\, v. t. To furnish with frets, as an instrument of music. From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: Fret \Fret\, v. t. [OE. fretten to adorn, AS fr[ae]twan, fr[ae]twian; akin to OS fratah[=o]n, cf Goth. us-fratwjan to make wise, also AS fr[ae]twe ornaments, OS fratah[=i] adornment.] To ornament with raised work to variegate; to diversify. Whose skirt with gold was fretted all about --Spenser. Yon gray lines, That fret the clouds, are messengers of day --Shak. From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: Fret \Fret\, v. i. 1. To be worn away to chafe; to fray; as a wristband frets on the edges. 2. To eat in to make way by corrosion. Many wheals arose, and fretted one into another with great excoriation. --Wiseman. 3. To be agitated; to be in violent commotion; to rankle; as rancor frets in the malignant breast. 4. To be vexed; to be chafed or irritated; to be angry; to utter peevish expressions. He frets, he fumes, he stares, he stamps the ground. --Dryden. From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: Fret \Fret\, n. 1. Ornamental work in relief, as carving or embossing. See {Fretwork}. 2. (Arch.) An ornament consisting of smmall fillets or slats intersecting each other or bent at right angles, as in classical designs, or at obilique angles, as often in Oriental art. His lady's cabinet is a adorned on the fret, ceiling, and chimney-piece with . . . carving. --Evelyn. From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: Fret \Fret\, n. 1. The agitation of the surface of a fluid by fermentation or other cause a rippling on the surface of water. --Addison. 2. Agitation of mind marked by complaint and impatience; disturbance of temper; irritation; as he keeps his mind in a continual fret. Yet then did Dennis rave in furious fret. --Pope. 3. Herpes; tetter. --Dunglison. 4. pl (Mining) The worn sides of river banks, where ores, or stones containing them accumulate by being washed down from the hills, and thus indicate to the miners the locality of the veins. From WordNet r 1.6 [wn]: fret n 1: agitation resulting from active worry; "don't get in a stew"; "he's in a sweat about exams" [syn: {stew}, {sweat}, {lather}, {swither}] 2: a small bar of metal across the fingerboard of a musical instrument; when the string is stopped by a finger at the metal bar it will produce a note of the desired pitch v 1: worry unnecessarily of excessively [syn: {fuss}, {niggle}] 2: be agitated or irritated 3: become or make sore by or as if by rubbing [syn: {chafe}, {gall}] 4: cause annoyance in 5: gnaw into make resentful or angry [syn: {eat into}, {rankle}, {grate}] 6: carve a pattern into 7: decorate with an interlaced design 8: be too tight; rub or press; "This neckband is chocking the cat" [syn: {choke}, {gag}] 9: cause friction [syn: {rub}, {fray}, {chafe}, {scratch}] 10: remove soil or rock, as of wind or water; "Rain eroded the terraces" [syn: {erode}, {eat away}] 11: wear away or erode [syn: {eat away}]
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