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75 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 : [ gcide ]


  Fret \Fret\ (fr[e^]t), n. [Obs.]
     See 1st Frith.
     [1913 Webster]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 : [ gcide ]


  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.]
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              The sow frete the child right in the cradle.
                                                    --Chaucer.
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     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.
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              With many a curve my banks I fret.    --Tennyson.
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     3. To impair; to wear away; to diminish.
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              By starts
              His fretted fortunes give him hope and fear. --Shak.
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     4. To make rough, agitate, or disturb; to cause to ripple;
        as, to fret the surface of water.
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     5. To tease; to irritate; to vex.
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              Fret not thyself because of evil doers. --Ps.
                                                    xxxvii. 1.
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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 : [ gcide ]


  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.
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     2. Agitation of mind marked by complaint and impatience;
        disturbance of temper; irritation; as, he keeps his mind
        in a continual fret.
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              Yet then did Dennis rave in furious fret. --Pope.
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     3. Herpes; tetter. --Dunglison.
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     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.
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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 : [ gcide ]


  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.
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           Whose skirt with gold was fretted all about. --Spenser.
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           Yon gray lines,
           That fret the clouds, are messengers of day. --Shak.
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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 : [ gcide ]


  Fret \Fret\, v. i.
     1. To be worn away; to chafe; to fray; as, a wristband frets
        on the edges.
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     2. To eat in; to make way by corrosion.
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              Many wheals arose, and fretted one into another with
              great excoriation.                    --Wiseman.
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     3. To be agitated; to be in violent commotion; to rankle; as,
        rancor frets in the malignant breast.
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     4. To be vexed; to be chafed or irritated; to be angry; to
        utter peevish expressions.
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              He frets, he fumes, he stares, he stamps the ground.
                                                    --Dryden.
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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 : [ gcide ]


  Fret \Fret\, n.
     1. Ornamental work in relief, as carving or embossing. See
        Fretwork.
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     2. (Arch.) An ornament consisting of small fillets or slats
        intersecting each other or bent at right angles, as in
        classical designs, or at oblique angles, as often in
        Oriental art.
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              His lady's cabinet is a adorned on the fret,
              ceiling, and chimney-piece with . . . carving.
                                                    --Evelyn.
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     3. The reticulated headdress or net, made of gold or silver
        wire, in which ladies in the Middle Ages confined their
        hair.
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              A fret of gold she had next her hair. --Chaucer.
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     Fret saw, a saw with a long, narrow blade, used in cutting
        frets, scrolls, etc.; a scroll saw; a keyhole saw; a
        compass saw.
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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 : [ gcide ]


  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.
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     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.
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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 : [ gcide ]


  Fret \Fret\, v. t.
     To furnish with frets, as an instrument of music.
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