▪ I. ˈcankerfret, n. Obs. or dial.
[See next, and the verb.]
† 1. Corrosion by rust. Obs.
| 1618 Bolton Florus ii. iii. 86 That the Armes of the Romans might not take dust, or canker-fret. [Or is this vb.?] |
2. ‘Copperas’ (? Verdigris).
3. ‘A sore or blister in the mouth. East.’ Halliwell.
▪ II. † ˈcankerfret, a. Obs.
[f. canker n. + fret pa. pple. ‘eaten away, gnawed’.]
a. Eaten away with ‘canker’ or gangrene. b. Corroded with rust.
| 1297 R. Glouc. 299 Somme by come cancrefrete, & somme blynde oþer wode. 1603 H. Crosse Vertues Commw. (1878) 56 Blades..canker-fret and rustie within. |
▪ III. † ˈcankerfret, v. Obs.
[f. canker n. + fret v.]
a. trans. To eat with ‘canker’. b. intr. To become cankered; to rust.
| 1642 Rogers Naaman 36 Which else through ease and selfe-love would rust and cankerfret. Ibid. 103 Ere [this sin] have cankerfretted the soul. |