▪ I. dread, v.
(drɛd)
Forms: 2–6 drede, (3 dræden), 4–6 dred, (4 dradde, dride, 3 pers. sing. drat, dret), 4–5 dredd(e, 4–6 dreed(e, 5–7 Sc. dreid, 6– dread. pa. tense 3–5 dredd(e, (4 drede), 4–5 dradde, 4–6 drad, dred, 5 Sc. dredyt, 6– dreaded. pa. pple. 4 ydred, ydradde, idrad, 4–6 dred, -de, 5–6 drad, -de, 6–7 dread(e, 6– dreaded.
[Early ME. dreden, dræden, not found in OE.; prob. aphetic f. adreden, OE. an-, ondrǽdan: see adread.]
1. trans. To fear greatly, be in mortal fear of; to regard with awe or reverence, venerate.
| c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 21 Swilcne lauerd we aȝen to dreden. Þet is godalmihtin. c 1200 Ormin 14686 Nu wat I þatt tu drædesst Godd. 1340 Ayenb. 116 Þe ybernde uer dret. c 1400 Mandeville (Roxb.) ix. 33 Þai drede noȝt þe sowdan ne nan oþer prince. 1481 Caxton Myrr. ii. xxviii. 121 The thondre, whiche is moche to be doubted and drad. 1590 Spenser F.Q. i. ii. 2 Nothing did he dread, but euer was ydrad. 1597 J. Payne Royal Exch. 35 Studieng no less to be..loved then to be dreade. 1667 Milton P.L. i. 464 His Temple high..dreaded through the Coast Of Palestine. 1784 Cowper Task iv. 129, I love thee..dreaded as thou art! 1874 Green Short Hist. iii. §7. 148 The man whom Henry dreaded as the future champion of English freedom. |
† b. to dread (dative inf.): proper to dread, to be dreaded. Obs.
| a 1300 Signs bef. Judgem. 16 in E.E.P. (1862) 8 No þing no man mai loke þat is so grisful forto drede. 1375 Barbour Bruce ii. 272 Thai sall fer mar be..for to dred. c 1400 Apol. Loll. 5 It is to drede, þat..iuil comiþ to vs. c 1489 Caxton Sonnes of Aymon xxviii. 591 [A] knyghte..that in his life was more to drede than ony man alive. |
2. To have a shrinking apprehension of; to look forward to with terror or anxiety: of future or unknown events. Often with inf. or subord. clause.
| a 1225 St. Marher. 5 Ne dredich na deð for to drehen for him. a 1300 Cursor M. 7613 He dred his kingdom to lese. c 1470 Henry Wallace vi. 630 Wallace dredyt gyll. 1508 Fisher 7 Penit Ps. Wks. (1876) 26 It is to be drad leest ony preuy gyle or deceyte remayne styll in the soule. c 1600 Shakes. Sonn. xcvii, Leaves look pale, dreading the winter's near. 1671 Milton Samson 733, I came, still dreading thy displeasure. 1752 Johnson Rambler No. 203 ¶3 We..dread their intrusion upon our minds, and fly from them as enemies. 1801 Moore Mem. (1853) I. 116, I sometimes dread that all is not right at home. 1802 H. Martin Helen of Glenross III. 26, I dread she is playing a dangerous fatal game. 1838 Lytton Alice 31 This next visit she dreaded more than she had any of the former ones. |
† b. To be anxious about, to fear for. rare.
| a 1547 Surrey æneid ii. 966 So much I dred my burden and my feer [comitique onerique timentem]. 1599 ? Shakes. Pass. Pilgr. 94 How many tales to please me hath she coin'd, Dreading my love, the loss thereof still fearing! |
† c. To doubt. Obs. rare.
| c 1400 Lanfranc's Cirurg. 96 If þat þou dredist wheþer þat it be a symple vlcus or a cankre and a foul, for þe signes..beþ doutis. |
† 3. intr. (or absol.). To be greatly afraid or apprehensive; to fear greatly. Const. about, of, for.
| c 1205 Lay. 31164 Swiðe heo gunnen dreden of Cadwalanes deden. a 1240 Lofsung in Cott. Hom. 209 Ic..am on mest ifuled of sunne ase ich drede. a 1300 Cursor M. 1810 (Cott.) Þai war ful dredand for [Fairf. of] þar lijf. 1382 Wyclif Gen. iii. 10, I dredde, there thurȝ that I was nakid. c 1449 Pecock Repr. 87 Drede ȝe of the effect which bifille to Bohemers. 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (1531) 15 God..bad them to be stronge and not to drede. 1611 Bible 1 Chron. xxii. 13 Dread [1885 R.V. fear] not, nor be dismayed. 1769 Goldsm. Rom. Hist. (1786) II. 48 Their friends..began to dread for the consequences. 1840 J. H. Newman Lett. (1891) II. 296, I dread about our Statutes. |
† 4. refl. To fear, be afraid. Obs.
| c 1200 Ormin 151 Ne dred te, Zacariȝe, nohht. c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 3008 Al ðis sor Saȝ pharaun, and dredde him ðor. c 1385 Chaucer L.G.W. 1740 Lucretia, Drede the nat for I am here. 1470–85 Malory Arthur xviii. xii, I wold fayn do that myȝt please yow, but I drede me sore. |
b. with subord. clause. arch.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 3665 (Cott.), I drede me sare, for benison He sal me giue his malison. c 1325 Poem Times Edw. II, 374 in Pol. Songs (Camden) 340, I drede me that God us hath for-laft out of his hond. c 1475 Rauf Coilȝear 713, I dreid me sair I be begylit. 1548 Hall Chron., Hen. VI, 97 A felde the whiche he drade hym, might have folowed if he had long taried. 1859 Tennyson Elaine 512, I dread me, if I draw it, you will die. |
† 5. trans. To cause to fear; to affright, terrify.
(In first quot. perh. impersonal.)
| c 1250 Old Kent. Serm. in O.E. Misc. 32 Wat dret yw folk of litle beliaue? 14.. Prose Legends in Anglia VIII. 141 Þe sauours þat she myghte not suffir byfore, than dredde hir not a deel. 1587 M. Grove Pelops & Hipp. (1878) 42 Which sight did much appall And dread the lookers on. 1617 J. Moore Mappe Mans Mortal. iii. iii. 201 A blazing Starre, that dreadeth the minde by presaging ruine. 1681 R. Knox Hist. Ceylon 169 The very thoughts of it would seem to dread me. |
6. Comb., as dread-death, dread-devil adjs.
| 1825 Cobbett Rur. Rides (1830) I. 48 A reader of old dread-death and dread-devil Johnson. |
Hence ˈdreaded ppl. a., ˈdreading vbl. n.
| c 1200 Ormin 7185 He Dredinng and aȝhe sette On alle þa þatt lufenn toþþ. a 1325 Prose Psalter cx[i]. 9 Þe biginnyng of wisdome is dredyng of our Lord. 1548 Udall Erasm. Par. Luke xii. (R.), If ye shal vpon the dreading of man, grow cleane out of kinde from the sinceritee of preaching the ghospel. 1556 Dreaded [see dreader]. 1590 Spenser F.Q. ii. x. 1 My most dreaded Soueraigne. 1607 Shakes. Cor. iii. iii. 98 In the presence Of dreaded Iustice. 1863 F. A. Kemble Resid. in Georgia 242 The dreaded rattlesnakes. |
▪ II. dread, n.
(drɛd)
Forms: 3–6 dred, drede, (4 drad, 4–5 dredde, 5–6 dreed(e, dreid(e, 6 dreade), 6– dread.
[f. prec. vb.]
1. Extreme fear; deep awe or reverence; apprehension or anxiety as to future events. Rarely in pl.
| c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 71 Forgetelnesse, nutelnesse, recheles, shamfastnesse, drede. a 1340 Hampole Psalter xiii. 9 Þai quoke for dred whare dred was noght. c 1400 Lanfranc's Cirurg. 124 Bi cause of drede lest an hoot enpostyme schulde come. 1508 Fisher 7 Penit. Ps. Wks. (1876) 28 The drede of god putteth awaye synne. 1663 Butler Hud. i. iii. 470 They'l straight resume their wonted Dreads. 1798 Wordsw. Peter Bell i. xlvii, Suspicion ripened into dread. 1828 D'Israeli Chas. I, I. iv. 67 The dread of famine. 1895 J. Kidd Morality & Relig. iv. 164 Dread is the extreme of anxiety on account of possible danger. |
2. A person or thing (to be) dreaded; an object or cause of fear, reverence, or awe; † a danger.
| c 1400 Lanfranc's Cirurg. 299 It is ful greet drede for to lete a child blood. 1501 Douglas Pal. Hon. ii. xlviii, He tauld..Of Dianis bair, in Callidon the dreidis. 1590 Spenser F.Q. i. vi. 2 Vna his dear dreed. 1671 Milton Samson 1473 Shouting to behold Their once great dread, captive and blind before them. 1725 Pope Odyss. iv. 980 Then Euryclea thus, My dearest dread! 1844 Mrs. Browning Drama of Exile Poems 1850 I. 38 To meet the spectral Dread. 1849 Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. 13 The wonder and dread of all neighbouring nations. |
† 3. Doubt, risk of the thing proving otherwise. Chiefly in phr.: without (but out of) dread, without doubt, doubtless; no dread, no fear, no doubt.
| 1340 Ayenb. 105 Hit ne is no drede þet ine þe zonge..þe ilke þet tekþ þe uoȝeles zynge, ne heþ uele notes sotiles and zuete. c 1386 Chaucer Clerk's T. 809 To yow broghte I noght elles, out of drede, But feith and nakednesse and maydenhede. c 1440 Lay Folks Mass Bk. (MS. C.) 102 Þe tyme is nere withowten drede. c 1460 Towneley Myst. (Surtees) 105 Of that ye wolde rowne, No drede. 1556 Lauder Tractate 201 Ȝe sall be plukkit frome ȝour ryngis,..withouttin dreid. |
4. a. Amongst Rastafarians: dread or fear of the Lord; also, more generally, a deep-rooted sense of alienation felt by Rastafarians towards contemporary society; extreme fear of something menacing or threatening. b. A Rastafarian, one who wears dreadlocks (often contemptuous). c. (pl.) Dreadlocks. d. attrib. or as adj. (esp. expressing extreme approval, dislike, etc.).
| 1974 Cole & Anderson (song title) Natty dread. 1976 Boot & Thomas Jamaica 44/1 That makes you a dread man, if you've got a gun. 1977 Observer 11 Dec. 4/7 A squat containing 15 young black men or ‘dreads’ and as many girls. 1978 S. Clarke New Planet 26 This was the dreaded place where Rastafarians and Dreads lived. 1983 N.Y. Times 8 Apr. c16/6 You can't walk far on lower Second Avenue without running into at least one crowd of ‘Dreads’. 1984 Melody Maker 6 Oct. 15/1 The Rasta leaps in the air and tosses his dreads, loosely braided at the back, over his head in a lash of black catkins. |
Sense 4 in Dict. becomes 5. Add: 4. A sudden take-off and flight of a flock of gulls or other birds.
| 1965 Ulster Folklife XI. 102 The unaccountable corporate flight of nesting colonies of terns and gulls is a ‘dread’. 1983 D. I. M. Wallace in Cramp & Simmons Birds of W. Palaearctic III. 578/1 Flocks [of wood sandpiper] often excitable, noisy, and given to dreads. |
▪ III. † dread, a. Obs.
(drɛd)
In 4 drad, 5 dred.
[Aphetic f. ME. adrad, ofdrad, OE. ofdrǽd(d in same sense.]
Afraid, frightened, terrified.
| c 1300 Havelok 1669 Hauelok..was..ful sore drad, With him to ete, for hise wif. c 1340 Cursor M. 6260 (Trin.) For pharao was he not drad. 1393 Langl. P. Pl. C. xvii. 310 Of deþ ne of derþe drad was he neuere. a 1400–50 Alexander 2489 Þan was ser Darius dred. c 1450 St. Cuthbert (Surtees) 5739 Theues war dred of Cuthberts wrake. |
▪ IV. dread, ppl. a.
(drɛd)
Also 5–6 drede, 5–7 drad, -de.
[ME. pa. pple. of dread v.]
1. Feared greatly; hence, to be feared; dreadful, terrible.
| c 1400 Destr. Troy 166 A derfe dragon, drede to be-holde. 1610 Shakes. Temp. i. ii. 206 And make..his dread Trident shake. 1667 Milton P.L. ix. 969 Death or aught then Death more dread. 1805 Scott Last Minstr. vi. xxxi, When louder yet, and yet more dread, Swells the high trump that wakes the dead! 1853 Faber All for Jesus 378 A bondage dreader far than death. 1868 Helps Realmah ii. (1876) 21. |
2. Held in awe; awful; revered.
| 1420 in Rymer Foed. IX. 883/1 Moste Dredde Soverayne Lord. 1484 Caxton Chivalry 99 My redoubted naturel and most dradde sauverayne lord kyng Rychard. 1593 Shakes. 2 Hen. VI, v. i. 17 A Messenger from Henry, our dread Liege. 1602 ― Ham. iii. iv. 109 Th' important acting of your dread command. 1643 Pet. Gen. Assembly Kirk Scot. in Clarendon Hist. Reb. vi. §343 Suffer us therefore, dread Sovereign, to renew our petitions. 1755 Young Centaur i. Wks. 1757 IV. 108 That dread being we dare oppose. 1840 Lytton Pilgr. Rhine xix, The dreadest ruler of men. |
3. Comb., adverbially, as dread-dear, dread-desired, dread-sweet; parasynthetic, as dread-bolted.
| 1592 Sylvester Tri. Faith iv. xlii, That drad-desired Day. 1598 ― Du Bartas ii. i. ii. Eden 429 And in our face his drad-sweet face he seales. 1613 ― Microcosmogr. 7 Drad-dear Creator, new-create Thy Creature. 1605 Shakes. Lear iv. vii. 33 To stand against the deep dread-bolted thunder. |