daunt
UK[dɔːnt]US[dɑːnt]
v
To make someone feel frightened or less confident about doing something.
Etymology
The word 'daunt' carries a history of conquest and domestication. It entered English in the 13th century from Old French, where it described the act of taming a wild animal or subduing an enemy. This sense of overcoming and mastering is rooted in its Latin ancestor, 'domāre', which also gives us 'dominate' and 'indomitable'. Over centuries, the meaning softened from physical subjugation to the psychological intimidation we understand today, where a daunting task is one that seems powerful enough to 'tame' one's courage or enthusiasm.
Analysis
The entire word 'daunt' is a simplex morpheme. It originates from the Old French verb 'danter' or 'donter', meaning 'to tame, subdue, conquer', which itself derived from the Latin verb 'domitāre', a frequentative form of 'domāre', meaning 'to tame, subdue'. Its functional role is as a complete verb root.
Examples
The sheer scale of the project did not daunt her.
He felt daunted by the prospect of speaking in front of such a large audience.
They were daunted but determined to succeed.