freet
Appearance
See also: Freet
English
[edit]Alternative forms
[edit]Etymology
[edit]From Middle English frete (“superstition”), from Old Norse frétt (“news, intelligence, inquiry, inquiry about the future”), from Proto-Germanic *frihtiz (“news, report, message, question, prophecy”), related to Icelandic frétt (“news”), Icelandic frétta (“to review”), Danish and Norwegian fritte (“to question, interrogate”), English frain (“to question”). More at frain.
Pronunciation
[edit]Noun
[edit]freet (plural freets)
- A superstitious notion or belief with respect to any action or event as a good or a bad omen; a superstition.
- 1824, John Mactaggart, The Scottish Gallovidian Encyclopedia, page 263:
- If the old “freet” be true “ that those who fall when at the handspake aneath the corpse, will soon be the corpse themsell," there would soon be a good few corspes; for at these "druken" concerns, the bearers are falling some of them every now and then.
- A superstitious rite, observance, wont, or practise.
- 1903, Samual Ferguson, The Fairy Well of Lagnanay:
- Oh, sister Ellen, sister sweet, Come with me to the hill I pray, And I will prove that blessed freet!
- A charm.
Derived terms
[edit]Anagrams
[edit]Luxembourgish
[edit]Verb
[edit]freet
- inflection of freeën:
Verb
[edit]freet
Middle English
[edit]Verb
[edit]freet
- alternative simple past of frēten.
- 1390, William Langland, Piers Ploughman:
- Adam freet of that fruit, And forsook The love of our Lord.
- (please add an English translation of this quotation)
Categories:
- English terms inherited from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms derived from Old Norse
- English terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- English 1-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- English terms with quotations
- Luxembourgish non-lemma forms
- Luxembourgish verb forms
- Middle English non-lemma forms
- Middle English verb forms
- Middle English terms with quotations