afraid

the word 'afraid' has a journey from a concept of disturbance to one of fear. it stems from the middle english 'affraied', meaning 'disturbed, attacked', which was the past participle of the verb 'affrayen' (to frighten). this verb entered english from anglo-french 'afrayer', 'effreier', ultimately derived from the vulgar latin 'exfridāre', literally 'to take out of peace'. this latin compound was formed from 'ex-' (out of) and a germanic root 'frithu' (peace), related to old english 'frith' and modern german 'friede'. thus, the core logic evolved from the literal idea of being "disturbed out of a state of peace" into the modern abstract sense of being in a state of fear or anxiety.

the word is a simplex form. it originates from the middle english 'affraied', the past participle of 'affrayen' meaning 'to frighten'. 'affrayen' itself came from the anglo-french 'afrayer', based on the vulgar latin 'exfridāre', a compound of latin 'ex-' (out) and a germanic root 'frithu' (peace). the functional role is that of a participial adjective.