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.

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)