FRETTING
FRET
fret, eat away
(verb) wear away or erode
erode, eat away, fret
(verb) remove soil or rock; “Rain eroded the terraces”
rub, fray, fret, chafe, scratch
(verb) cause friction; “my sweater scratches”
choke, gag, fret
(verb) be too tight; rub or press; “This neckband is choking the cat”
fret
(verb) decorate with an interlaced design
fret
(verb) carve a pattern into
fret
(verb) be agitated or irritated; “don’t fret over these small details”
fret
(verb) cause annoyance in
fuss, niggle, fret
(verb) worry unnecessarily or excessively; “don’t fuss too much over the grandchildren--they are quite big now”
chafe, gall, fret
(verb) become or make sore by or as if by rubbing
fret
(verb) provide (a musical instrument) with frets; “fret a guitar”
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Verb
fretting
present participle of fret
Noun
fretting (plural frettings)
Action of the verb to fret.
Source: Wiktionary
FRET
Fret, n. [Obs.]
Definition: See 1st Frith.
Fret, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Fretted; p. pr. & vb. n. Fretting.] Etym:
[OE. freten to eat, consume; AS. fretan, for foretan; pref. for- +
etan to eat; akin to D. vreten, OHG. frezzan, G. fressen, Sw. fräta,
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.
Fret, v. i.
1. To be worn away; to chafe; to fray; as, a wristband frets on the
edges.
2. To eat in; to make way by corrosion.
Many wheals arose, and fretted one into another with great
excoriation. Wiseman.
3. To be agitated; to be in violent commotion; to rankle; as, rancor
frets in the malignant breast.
4. To be vexed; to be chafed or irritated; to be angry; to utter
peevish expressions.
He frets, he fumes, he stares, he stamps the ground. Dryden.
Fret, n.
1. The agitation of the surface of a fluid by fermentation or other
cause; a rippling on the surface of water. Addison.
2. Agitation of mind marked by complaint and impatience; disturbance
of temper; irritation; as, he keeps his mind in a continual fret.
Yet then did Dennis rave in furious fret. Pope.
3. Herpes; tetter. Dunglison.
4. pl. (Mining)
Definition: 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.
Fret, v. t. Etym: [OE. fretten to adorn, AS. frætwan, frætwian; akin
to OS. fratah, cf. Goth. us-fratwjan to make wise, also AS. frætwe
ornaments, OS. fratahi adornment.]
Definition: To ornament with raised work; to variegate; to diversify.
Whose skirt with gold was fretted all about. Spenser.
Yon gray lines, That fret the clouds, are messengers of day. Shak.
Fret, n.
1. Ornamental work in relief, as carving or embossing. See Fretwork.
2. (Arch.)
Definition: An ornament consisting of smmall fillets or slats intersecting
each other or bent at right angles, as in classical designs, or at
obilique angles, as often in Oriental art.
His lady's cabinet is a adorned on the fret, ceiling, and chimney-
piece with . . . carving. Evelyn.
3. The reticulated headdress or net, made of gold or silver wire, in
which ladies in the Middle Ages confined their hair.
A fret of gold she had next her hair. Chaucer.
Fret saw, a saw with a long, narrow blade, used in cutting frets,
scrolls, etc.; a scroll saw; a keyhole saw; a compass saw.
Fret, n. Etym: [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.)
Definition: A saltire interlaced with a mascle.
2. (Mus.)
Definition: 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.
Fret, v. t.
Definition: To furnish with frets, as an instrument of music.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition