| 释义 |
▪ I. fear, n.1|fɪə(r)|
Forms: 1 fǽr, fér, 3–6 fere, 3 fer, 4–5 feer(e, 6 Sc. feir, 5–7 feare, 7– fear. Also 2, 5 fore.
[OE. fǽr (the rare southern ME. fore may represent a variant *fár; cf. swár = swǽr) str. masc., sudden calamity, danger, corresponds to OS. fâr ambush (MDu. vaer), and except for the difference of declension to MDu. vâre fem. fear (cf. mod.Du. gevaar neut. danger), OHG. fâra fem. ambush, stratagem, danger (MHG. vâre; cf. MHG. gevæ̂re fem. and neut., mod.G. gefahr fem.), ON. fár neut. misfortune, plague; the n. (:—OTeut. *fæ̂ro-z, fæ̂ro(m, fæ̂râ) is not recorded in Goth., which however has the derivative fêrja lier in wait.
The base fæ̂r- (:—pre-Teut. pēr-) is prob. one of the ablaut forms of the Aryan root per to go through (see fare v.1), but the genesis of the sense is not clear; the current comparison with Gr. πεῖρα, L. perīculum trial, attempt, risk, seems to be misleading.]
†1. In OE.: A sudden and terrible event; peril.
Beowulf 1068 Hie se fær beᵹeat. a1000Cædmon's Exod. 452 (Gr.) Wæron Eᵹypte eft oncyrde, fluᵹon forhtiᵹende, fær onᵹeton.
2. a. The emotion of pain or uneasiness caused by the sense of impending danger, or by the prospect of some possible evil.
Now the general term for all degrees of the emotion; in early use applied to its more violent extremes, now denoted by alarm, terror, fright, dread. In 14th c. sometimes pleonastically dread and fear.
c1175Lamb. Hom. 97 Hi..wið-utan fore godes blisse bodedan. c1290S. Eng. Leg. I. 82/15 He ne bi-lefte for no fere. c1340Cursor M. 2914 (Trin.) Into þe felde he drouȝe for feer. 1398Trevisa Barth. De P.R. xii. xxxiv. (1495) 434 The ostryche maye not see the horse wythout fere. c1400Mandeville (Roxb.) xxxi. 140 Fals hert myght noȝt bere þe grete drede and fere þat þai had. 1490Caxton Eneydos xv. 61 O Jupyter, hast thou..determyned..to gyue vs tremoure and feere. 1562J. Heywood Prov. & Epigr. (1867) 9 Feare may force a man to cast beyonde the moone. 1588A. King tr. Canisius' Catech. 17 He..may..without al feir say [etc.]. 1611Bible Ex. xv. 16 Feare and dread shall fall vpon them. 1671Milton P.R. iii. 206 Where no hope is left, is left no fear. 1725Watts Logic i. vi. §12 We are in Danger of it [Passion], it raises our fear. 1776Gibbon Decl. & F. I. 303 Fear has been the original parent of superstition. 1809–10Coleridge Friend (1865) 107 A contract..might be entered into through fear. 1875Manning Mission H. Ghost x. 265 Fear without fortitude degenerates into timidity.
b. personified.
1590Spenser F.Q. iii. xii. 12 Next him was Feare, all arm'd from top to toe. a1650May Old Couple ii. (1658) 13 Then fear steps in, and tells me [etc.]. 1747Collins Ode Passions 17 First Fear his hand..Amid the chords bewilder'd laid. 1817Coleridge Poems 69 Pale Fear Haunted by ghastlier shapings.
c. An instance of the emotion; a particular apprehension of some future evil.
a1616Beaum. & Fl. Knt. of Malta ii. v, Tender, and full of fears, our blushing sex is. 1701De Foe True-born Eng. 2 With needless Fears the..Nation fill. 1874Morley Compromise (1886) 36 The old hopes have grown pale, the old fears dim. 1879M. E. Braddon Clov. Foot ix, You need have no such fear.
d. A state of alarm or dread. Chiefly in phrase in fear; also, † to put in (a) fear, to fall into fear.
1297R. Glouc. (1724) 402 Þo þe Saracens yt yseye, hii were somdel in fere. 1535Coverdale Esther xiv. 19 Delyuer me out of my feare. 1581G. Pettie Guazzo's Civ. Conv. iii. (1586) 159 b, They..make it a sport to put their children in feare. 1623Bingham Xenophon 13 They, and Menon himselfe, were put in a feare. 1653Holcroft Procopius i. 17 The Barbarians..fell into feare and disorder. 1691tr. Emilianne's Frauds Romish Monks 390 She continued..in deadly fears. 1736Butler Anal. i. iii, This state of fear being itself often a very considerable punishment. 1771Mrs. Griffiths tr. Viaud's Shipwreck 200, I set out forthwith..in fear and trembling.
3. This emotion viewed with regard to an object; the state of fearing (something).
a. Apprehension or dread of something that will or may happen in the future. Const. of, to with inf.; also with clause introduced by that or lest.
a1300Body & Soul 172 in Map's Poems [MS. Laud 108, fol. 200] Ne thorte us have friȝt ne fer that God ne wolde his blisse us sent. 1538Starkey England i. ii. 43 He..for Fere of daungerys runnyth into a relygyous house. 1568Grafton Chron. II. 355 They are ever in feare to lose that they have. 1647Chas. I Let. in Antiquary I. 97 The feare of your being brought within the power of the army. 1848Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. 459 The..king might..without any fear of opposition from England, proceed to annex Brabant. 1884Manch. Exam. 20 May 5/2 The fears of a general crisis are passing away.
b. esp. in phrase for fear, where in mod. use the sense of the n. is often weakened; thus for fear of = ‘in order to avoid or prevent’; for fear that or lest (also colloq. with ellipsis of the conj.) = ‘lest’.
When fear in these locutions is intended to have its full sense, through or from is now usually substituted for for.
c1340Cursor M. 1908 (Trin.) But ȝitt bode he seuen dayes in rest For fere lest any damnyng brest. c1489Caxton Sonnes of Aymon xxii. 481 Wene ye that I shall do that ye saye for fere of deth? 1583Stubbes Anat. Abus. ii. (1882) 95 To depart..In the time of plague..for feare of infection. 1597Montgomerie Cherrie & Slae 360, I was affrayd to mount sa hich, For feir to get ane fall. 1600Holland Livy xlix. Epit. (1609) 1238 To depart out of those quarters..for feare to bee murdered. 1678Trial of Ireland, Pickering, & Grove in Howell St. Trials (1816) VII. 95 Grove would have had the bullets to be champt, for fear that [etc.]. 1693Dryden Juvenal x. 534 Must we not Wish, for fear of wishing Ill? 1749Fielding Tom Jones xii. xi, It is good to be charitable to those sort of people, for fear what may happen. 1791‘G. Gambado’ Ann. Horsem. ix. (1809) 104, I, for fear of the worst, took to my heels.
c. Apprehensive feeling towards anything regarded as a source of danger, or towards a person regarded as able to inflict injury or punishment.
1340–70Alex. & Dind. 346 We ne haue fere of no fon þat faren wiþ-oute. 1382Wyclif Gen. ix. 2 And ȝoure feer..be vpon alle the beestis of erthe. c1420Chron. Vilod. 3295 For þe grete fore [rime-word euermore] Þe whyche he had þo þere of þis virgyn Seynt Ede. c1489Caxton Sonnes of Aymon iii. 80 But he could do none otherwyse, for feere of Charlemayn. 1600J. Pory tr. Leo's Africa ii. 9 He stood in feare of the people of Tunis. 1841Lane Arab. Nts. I. 92, I have an enemy of whom I am in fear.
d. A mingled feeling of dread and reverence towards God (formerly also, towards any rightful authority).
Wyclif has always drede in this sense. The distinction between servile and filial fear (see quot. 1860), in Lat. timor servilis, filialis, is stated (as already generally current) by Thomas Aquinas, Summa ii. ii. xix.
c1400Solomon's Bk. Wisdom 42 Wite þi douttren with eye wel, þat þai haue of þe fere. 1535Coverdale Ecclus. ii. 6 Holde fast his feare, and growe therin. 1548–9(Mar.) Bk. Com. Prayer 75 A perpetuall feare..of thy holy name. 1599Shakes. Much Ado ii. iii. 200 He..vndertakes them with a most Christian-like feare. 1607Hieron Wks. I. 130 There is a..slauish feare, and a sonlike feare. 1611Bible Ps. cxi. 10 The feare of the Lord is the beginning of wise⁓dome. 1729Butler Serm. Wks. 1874 II. 82 He is..under no other force..than the fear of God. 1851Ruskin Mod. Paint. II. iii. i. xiv. §27 That sacred dread of all offence to him, which is called the Fear of God. 1860Pusey Min. Proph. 598 Fear is twofold; servile, whereby punishment, not fault, is dreaded; filial, by which fault is feared. 1875Manning Mission H. Ghost xi. 295 Holy fear is the beginning of the obedience of the Children of God.
e. Phrases: to put (occas. rub) the fear of God into, to terrify (into submission); without fear or favour, impartially.
1890Macm. Mag. Jan. 230/2 Rub the fear of God into the people. 1905H. G. Wells Let. 13 Aug. in D. L. Moore E. Nesbit (1933) xii. 214 Bland might like to come over when Clodd is here, and help me put the fear of God into him. 1906Independent Rev. X. 110 He [sc. Dr. Johnson] judged authors as if they were criminals in the dock, answerable for every infraction of the rules and regulations laid down by the laws of art, which it was his business to administer without fear or favour. 1930A. Bennett Imperial Palace 479 When she's my wife I'll put the fear of God into her. 1956A. Wilson Anglo-Saxon Att. i. i. 4 If you have grievances..send your problems to John Middleton. He will investigate your case without fear or favour. 1959Punch 16 Dec. 614/3 If I may say so without fear or favour. 1960‘J. Wyndham’ Trouble with Lichen iii. ix. 119 We put the fear of God into the girls over that kind of thing.
4. Solicitude, anxiety for the safety of a person or thing. Also in phrase (for, in) fear of one's life.
1490Caxton Eneydos xlix. 142 He lept in to one of the shippes..for grete feer of his lyffe. 1580Sidney Arcadia (1622) 68 Then care, not feare, or feare, not for themselues, altered..the countenances of the..Louers. 1611Bible 2 Macc. xv. 18 The..principal feare, was for the holy Temple. 1862Sat. Rev. XIV. 569/2 At a later period, when wandering, in fear of his life, over Italy [etc.].
5. In various objective senses.
a. Ground or reason for alarm. Chiefly in phrase (there is) no fear; now often used as an exclamation. The usual sense of no fear is now ‘not likely’, ‘certainly not’.
1535Coverdale Ps. lii[i]. 5 They are afrayed, where no feare is. 1634Massinger Very Woman iii. i, Give him but sage and butter..And there's no fear. 1699W. Hacke Collect. Orig. Voy. iv. 7 No fear but they might get 2 or 3 thousand Dollards per man. 1800[see pho, phoh int.]. 1817A. Constable Let. 25 Dec. in J. Constable's Corr. (1962) 167 Being very clean, and good temper'd, she hop'd there was no fear of her suiting you. 1861Times 25 May, ‘Is there any fear, Captain?’ 1887Money Dutch Maiden (1888) 338 He will never go hence..no fear. 1930A. Bennett Imperial Palace xii. 73, I invite him to dinner! And in his own hotel! No fear! 1966J. B. Priestley Salt is Leaving xii. 172 No fear! I wouldn't be found dead in Birkden.
†b. Intimidation. Obs.
1426in Surtees Misc. (1890) 8 Witht oute distresse or fere done to him.
†c. Capability of inspiring fear, formidableness.
1601Shakes. Jul. C. ii. i. 190 There is no feare in him; let him not dye. 1654Goddard in Introd. Burton's Diary (1828) I. 46 Our wars will have much more reputation and fear, when..a whole nation will not consent to a war lightly.
†d. An object of fear; something that is, or is to be, feared. In the Bible occas. by a Hebraism, the object of (a person's) religious reverence, the God of (his) worship.
1535Coverdale Prov. x. 29 The waye of the Lorde..is a feare for wicked doers. 1561J. Daus tr. Bullinger on Apoc. (1573) 204 Therfore let God be our feare. 1607Heywood Woman killed Wks. 1874 II. 100 The rumor of this feare stretcht to my eares. 1611Bible Gen. xxxi. 53 Iacob sware by the feare of his father Isaac. ― Prov. i. 26, I wil mocke when your feare commeth. 1667Milton P.L. ix. 285 His [Satan's] fraud is then thy fear.
6. Comb.
a. objective with adj. as fear-free; with pr. pple., as fear-inspiring;
b. instrumental with pa. pples., as fear-broken, fear-created, fear-depressed, fear-driven, fear-dulled, † fear-fled, fear-froze, fear-palsied, fear-pursued, fear-shaken, fear-shook, fear-smitten, fear-stirred, fear-stricken, fear-spurred, fear-surprised, fear-tangled, fear-taught; fear-blast v., to blast (a person) with fear; fear instinct, the instinctive tendency to be afraid; fear paroxysm, a paroxysm caused by fear; fear-struck, -strucken, struck with or overwhelmed by fear; fear-worship, worship resulting from fear.
1593Nashe Four Lett. Confut. 74, I *fearblaste thee..with the winde of my weapon.
1647Fuller Good Th. in Worse T. (1841) 106 Soldiers' hearts might be *fear-broken by the score of their sins who were no soldiers.
1777Potter æschylus 190, Seven agst. Th., Is this a tale of *fear-created woe?
1597Daniel Civ. Wars ii. x, *Fear-depressed envie.
1901‘L. Malet’ Hist. R. Calmady v. ix. 460 Some *fear-driven hurrying ghost.
1938W. de la Mare Memory 9 The *fear-dulled eyes in the pallid face.
1611Sylvester Du Bartas ii. iv. iii. Schisme 901 Each man hies Vnto the tents of *fear-fled Enemies.
a1679Earl of Orrery Guzman 11 Cannot you give me another [charm] to make me *Fear-free?
1791E. Darwin Bot. Gard. i. 123 The demon..Springs o'er the *fear-froze crew with Harpy-claws.
1812Crabbe Dumb Orators Tales i, An awe⁓compelling frown, and *fear-inspiring size. 1904W. M. Gallichan Fishing Spain xii. 118 Tragic dreams of this strange, fear-inspiring flood.
1908W. McDougall Introd. Soc. Psychol. iv. 94 The *fear-instinct has..a special perceptual inlet that renders it excitable by the sound of the cry of fear. 1923D. H. Lawrence Kangaroo xvi. 335 The herd instinct, for example, is of many sorts. It has two main divisions, the fear-instinct, and the aggressive instinct.
1811Shelley Let. 11 Jan. (1964) I. 38 Wild horror the *fear-palsied Earth is astounding. 1842Sir A. De Vere Song of Faith 252 Fear-palsied, and his mind scarce half awake.
1890W. James Princ. Psychol. II. xxiv. 419 A certain amount of timidity obviously adapts us to the world we live in, but the *fear-paroxysm is surely altogether harmful to him who is its prey.
1798W. Sotheby tr. Wieland's Oberon (1826) I. 53 Nor ceas'd the wight to scamper, *fear-pursu'd.
1625K. Long tr. Barclay's Argenis v. xvi. 381 Then came Selenissas death..into his *feare-shaken mind.
a1756Collins Ode on Highlands 119 His *fear-shook limbs have lost their youthful force.
1870Bryant Iliad II. xvii. 190 Idomeneus, *fear-smitten, lashed The long-maned steeds.
c1626Dick of Devon ii. v. in Bullen Old Pl. II. 42 Some of the *feare-spurrd villaines Were overturnd by slaughter in their flight.
1921W. de la Mare Veil 87 To the *fear-stirred heart And the ancient dread Of man.
1906B. von Hutten What became of Pam x. 176 The girl, *fear-stricken..knelt down.
1636Massinger Bashf. Lover ii. v, Let not..these thick woods give sanctuary to the *fear-struck hares. 1776Mickle tr. Camoens' Lusiad 53 The Moors start, fear-struck, at the horrid sound. 1870Bryant Iliad II. xxi. 282 Fear-struck, yet hoping to avoid the doom.
1613Drummond of Hawthornden Cypress Grove Wks. (1711) 124 Why shouldst thou be *fear-strucken..for thy parting from..thy body.
1602Shakes. Ham. i. ii. 203 He walkt, By their opprest and *feare-surprized eyes.
1870Morris Earthly Par. II. iii. 149 His hope *fear-tangled..bound his eyes full fast.
1649G. Daniel Trinarch., Hen. IV, ccxl, The *feare-taught Politicks Evade the Force, by yeilding to the Power.
1849H. Mayo Truths Pop. Superst. vi. 85 Somnambulism..has had no *fear-worship. 1865Proc. Amer. Phil. Soc. X. 145 To learn the language of Fear-worship we must go back to the very beginning.
▸ fear factor n. a feeling of apprehension or fear, usually viewed as a reason not to do something; a cause of such a feeling; the extent to which such a feeling is predominant.
1914Fort Wayne (Indiana) Jrnl. Gaz. 14 Aug. 16/3 A stale stock of over 1,000 would have been a *fear factor, but most of these hogs were in speculators' hands and will not be accessible until prices react. 1943Virginia Law Rev. 29 447 The upper unbroken line [on the graph] represents what, of all public opinion tests, most closely resembles the fear factor. This is the percentage of those expecting Germany to win the war. 2003Independent on Sunday 2 Nov. (TimeOff section) 11/6 The hardest thing is to get over the fear factor after a big injury. After my initial cruciate lay-off, the first time I went to land on the knee again was very frightening.
▪ II. fear, n.2
= fiar n.
▪ III. fear, v.|fɪə(r)|
Forms: 1 fǽran, 3 færen, Orm. færenn, 3–6 fere, (4 fyre, 5 ferin, -yn, feyre), 3, 6 (Sc.) feir, 4–5 feer(e, 4–6 feare, (6 feair), 7 fare, 6– fear.
[OE. fǽran (:—*fæ̂rjan) wk. vb. to terrify, f. fæ̂r (see fear n.1); parallel derivatives in other Teut. langs., with senses varying according to those of the primary n., are OS. fârôn to lie in wait; MDu. vaeren to fear; OHG. fârên, to plot against, to lie in wait, to endeavour after (MHG. vâren in same senses, also, rarely, to fear); ON. fǽra to taunt, slight.]
I.
1. trans. To inspire with fear; to frighten. Obs. exc. arch. or vulgar.
c1000ælfric Deut. i. 18 Þa bodan us færdon. c1200Ormin 675 He wile himm færenn. a1225Ancr. R. 230 Auh heo neuede þo none leaue, bute one uort to offeren [v.r. fearen] him. 1340Hampole Pr. Consc. 6429 For þe mynde of þam myght men feer. c1400Sowdone Bab. 59 Here Bugles boldely for to blowe, To fere the beestis. 1485Caxton St. Wenefr. 20, I sawe a vysyon whiche moche fered me. 1548Hall Chron. 166 Women in Fraunce to feare their yong children, would crye, the Talbot commeth. 1593Shakes. 3 Hen. VI, v. ii. 2 Warwicke was a Bugge that fear'd vs all. 1641Maisterton Serm. 16 An old-wifes tale, fit for nothing but to fear fools. c1665Roxb. Ball. VII. 524 Our King must have Seamen..most stout His enemies' hearts for to fear. 1801Macneill Poet. Wks. (1844) 46 If thy slumber's sweet..no dangers can fear me. 1820Keats Isabella viii, I would not..fear Thine eyes by gazing. 1872Lever Ld. Kilgobbin xviii, Devil fear her!
†b. it fears me: = I am afraid. Obs.
1503Hawes Examp. Virt. Prol. 2 It fereth me sore for to endyte. 1646Burd. Issach. in Phenix (1708) II. 287 It feareth me besides, that God is punishing our present Sins. 1813Hogg Queen's Wake 67 It fearis me muckil ye haif seen Quhat good man never knew.
2. With pregnant sense.
†a. To drive away by fear, frighten away, scare (esp. birds or animals). Chiefly with away. Obs.
c1420Pallad. on Husb. i. 147 Eddres to sleyn & foules oute to fere is. 1504W. Atkynson tr. De Imitatione iii. xxvii, Fere away the euyll bestes. 1577J. Northbrooke Dicing (1579) 45 b, If there were nothing else to feare them away from this play. 1603Shakes. Meas. for M. ii. i. 2 A scar-crow..to feare the Birds of prey. 1613Dennys Secrets of Angling ii. in Arb. Garner I. 174 There some great fish doth fear the rest away. 1614Raleigh Hist. World II. iv. ii. §7. 152 A Swallow flew about his head..and could not be feared from him. a1631Donne The Storm 52 Wks. 1873 II. 5 Some..would seeme there, With hydeous gazinge, to feare away Feare.
†b. To deter from a course of conduct, etc. Const. from; also occas. followed by that{ddd}not.
c1380Wyclif Wks. (1880) 109 (title) Speculum de Anti⁓christo, Hou anticrist & his clerkis feren trewe prestis fro prechynge of cristis gospel. 1393Langland P. Pl. C. xviii. 285 Eueriche busshope..sholde... Feden hem [hus peple]..and fere hem fro synne. 1530Tindale Gen. Prol. Wks. I. 399 The ensamples..are written to fear the flesh, that we sin not. 1531Frith Judgm. Tracy 251 He doth..fear us from putting any confidence in our own works. 1539Taverner Erasm. Prov. (1552) 3 To feare hym that he..shulde not prouoke S. Hierom. 1583Babington Commandm. (1588) 135 Shall it not feare vs from so foule a custome? a1632T. Taylor God's Judgem. i. i. v. (1642) 184 Their example feared not the Cornishmen from rebelling.
†c. To drive by fear to, into. Obs.
1563Foxe A. & M. 788 a, It should somwhat touche them to be sene by werynes of pryson to feare him to it. 1646J. Hall Poems i. 68 Nor will I..Lillies feare Into a Iandise.
II. To feel fear; to regard with fear.
3. refl. (cf. 1 b) To be afraid. † Formerly const. of. Now only arch. in phrase I fear me.
1393Gower Conf. I. 294 (Fairfax MS.) So lowde his belle is runge..That of þe noise..Men feeren hem..Welmore þan þei don of þonder. 1530Palsgr. 547/2, I feared me alwayes that it wolde be so. 1590Marlowe Edw. II, ii. iv, I fear me he is slain. 1608S. Ward in Abp. Ussher's Lett. (1686) 26, I fear me, he will hardly get Copies. 1856R. A. Vaughan Mystics (1860) I. 167, I fear me that..some..earthly love mingles with his friendship. 1859Tennyson Lancelot & Elaine 966 A flash, I fear me, that will strike my blossom dead.
4. intr. in same sense.
†a. to fear of (rarely at): = sense 5.
c1400Destr. Troy 1929 We fors not his frendship, ne fere of his hate. 1509Barclay Shyp of Folys (1874) I. 173 He or she that mariage doth breke May fere of deth eternall whan they dye. c1600Shakes. Sonn. cxv, Fearing of love's tyranny. 1606G. W[oodcocke] tr. Hist. Ivstine 97 a, The men..which feared not at the command of King Phillip.
b. with dependent clause: To feel alarmed or uneasy lest (something should happen).
(Closely approaching the trans. use with clause; cf. 7 b.)
c1489Caxton Sonnes of Aymon xx. 455 He feered sore leste Reynawde sholde make to deye rychard of normandy. 1559W. Cuningham Cosmogr. Glasse 38, I ever feare lest th' Earth..should fall to the other part of the Heavens. 1691tr. Emilianne's Obs. Journ. Naples 135 Fearing lest some Insurrection might be caus'd. 1823F. Clissold Asc. Mt. Blanc 20, I..feared lest I should drop down.
c. simply. (Blends with the absol. use of senses 5 and 7.) Phrase (colloq.), never fear: = ‘there's no danger of that’.
1588Shakes. L.L.L. i. ii. 108 If she fear..By this [pale white cheekes] you shall not know. c1590Marlowe Faust. Wks. (Rtldg.) 100/1 'Tis but a surfeit; never fear, man. 1611Bible Gen. l. 19 And Ioseph saide vnto them, Feare not. 1651Hobbes Govt. & Soc. i. §2. 7 To..take heed, provide so that they may not fear. 1798Coleridge Anc. Mar. iv. ii, Fear not thou wedding guest! 1800Cogan Philos. Treat. Passions i. ii. (1802) 102 As soon as we cease to fear, we begin to hope. 1838Lytton Lady of Lyons ii. i, I'll find the occasion, never fear! 1888Mrs. Parr Runaways in Longm. Mag. Apr. 640 I'm not going to blab on myself—never fear! 1893Morley in Westm. Gaz. 19 Apr. 3/2 Those only see aright into the future of civilised communities who hope—not those who fear.
5. trans. To regard with fear, be afraid of (a person or thing as a source of danger, an anticipated event or state of things as painful or evil).
c1460Fortescue Abs. & Lim. Mon. x, Ther shulde non off hem growe to be like vnto hym; wich thynge is most to be fered of all þe worlde. 1477Earl Rivers (Caxton) Dictes 97 Thoo that sawe not yesterday Alexander ferede him gretely, and now thoo that see him fereth him not. 1530Palsgr. 547/2 He feareth me above all the men lyvynge. 1563Golding Cæsar 30 b, They feared not the enemy, but the narrownes of the wais. 1611Bible 2 Esdras xii. 13 It shall be feared aboue all the kingdomes that were before it. a1618Raleigh Rem. (1664) 116 To fear the losse of the bell, more than the losse of the steeple. 1667Milton P.L. ix. 282 His violence thou fearst not. 1697Dryden æn. x. 1261 Nor Fate I fear, but all the Gods defy. 1841Lane Arab. Nts. I. 92 Every..person whom thou fearest. 1885Clodd Myths & Dr. ii. iii. 155 What man cannot understand he fears.
transf.c1489Caxton Sonnes of Aymon vi. 149 It [y⊇ castell] fered no sawtyng on no side of it.
b. with inf. (vbl. n., etc.) as object: To hesitate (to do something) through fear of the consequences; † to fear offence = to fear to offend.
1603Florio Montaigne 563 As if he feared to attediate..us. 1700Dryden Cymon & Iphig. 114 He..would have spoke, but..found his want of Words, and fear'd Offence. 1794Mrs. Radcliffe Myst. Udolpho xliv, Dorothee..feared to obey. 1799tr. Diderot's Natural Sin ii. 26 You feared disturbing our tranquillity.
6. To regard with reverence and awe; to revere. Now only with God as obj.; formerly in wider sense.
a1400Prymer (1891) 101 Gretly is thi word fyred. 1526Tindale Eph. v. 33 Lett the wyfe see that she feare her husbande. 1593Shakes. Rich. II, ii. i. 52 This..Wombe of Royall Kings, Fear'd by their breed. 1611Bible Ps. ciii. 13 The Lord pitieth them that feare him. 1715De Foe Fam. Instruct. i. i. (1841) I. 10 If you fear God..as your father. 1827Pollok Course T. iv. 135 Who..feared nought but God.
7. To have an uneasy sense of the probability of (some unwelcome occurrence in the future); to apprehend. Opposed to hope for.
1597Shakes. 2 Hen. IV, i. i. 87 He that but feares the thing, he would not know Hath..knowledge from others eyes, That what he feard, is chanc'd. 1759Johnson Rasselas xxviii, If they have less to fear, they have less also to hope. 1861M. Pattison Ess. (1889) I. 47 London had ceased to fear a foreign foe.
b. with subord. clause. To be afraid that (something will be or is the case). In negative sentences the clause may be introduced by but or but that = that..not. Also with direct obj. and to be or simple complement; rarely, with inf. as obj. Also parenthetically.
1526Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 16 b, I feare sore that many chrysten people..do as the chyldren of Israel dyd. a1533Ld. Berners Huon lxi. 212 Fere not but ye shalbe well payed. 1593Shakes. 3 Hen. VI, v. vi. 12 The Theefe doth feare each bush an Officer. 1638Baker tr. Balzac's Lett. I. 25 Never feare that I will impaire his ill nights. 1658–9Burton's Diary (1828) IV. 47, I fear they are troubled with King's evil. 1667Milton P.L. i. 628 What power of mind..could have fear'd, How such united force of Gods..could ever know repulse. 1692tr. Zingis 11 He feared with reason to be unable to do any thing for Zingis. 1726Adv. Capt. R. Boyle 47, I fear'd it would be..two hundred Pounds. 1771E. Griffith tr. Viaud's Shipwreck 255, I fear much that of the sixteen persons..three only of us have survived. 1848Macaulay Hist. Eng. II. 225 He might do so without fearing that the Five Mile Act would be enforced. 1857Trollope Three Clerks v, I fear we are all in your black books. 1863F. A. Kemble Resid. in Georgia 16 The account..will hardly, I fear, render my letters very interesting.
8. a. † trans. (Perh. originally const. dat.: cf. L. timere alicui). To be apprehensive about, to fear something happening to (obs.). b. In same sense intr.; const. for, † of.
1526Tindale Gal. iv. 11, I feare off you, lest I have bestowed on you laboure in vayne. c1530Ld. Berners Arth. Lyt. Bryt. (1814) 213 Arthur fered his horse, lest that the lyon sholde haue slayne hym. 1594Shakes. Rich. III, i. i. 137 His Physitians feare him mightily. 1611Tourneur Ath. Trag. v. i, If any roote of life remaines within 'em..feare 'em not. 1651N. Bacon Disc. Govt. Eng. ii. i. (1739) 6 The people..feared their own Free-holds. 1686Dryden Horace i. xxix. 10 Let the greedy merchant fear For his ill⁓gotten gain. 1695Prior Ode death Q. Mary 47 So much she fears for William's life. 1841Lane Arab. Nts. I. 11, I fear for thee that the same will befal thee. 1853Kane Grinnell Exp. xxxiii. (1856) 284 note, We feared for his recovery.
†c. In 18th c., when the vb. was conjugated negatively, a following negative was often illogically omitted, so that the vb. seems to mean: To apprehend the non-occurrence of (some event).
a1699Stillingfl. Serm. Wks. 1710 I. 619 We need not fear a gracious answer. 1747S. Fielding Lett. David Simple I. ii. 63, I liked him, and was so accustomed to the Addresses of every Man by whom I was seen, that I did not at all fear his immediately becoming one of my Train. 1771T. Hull Sir W. Harrington (1797) iv. 211 If I apply for it, I don't fear its being granted.
†9. To regard with distrust; to doubt. Obs.
1578T. N. tr. Conq. W. India 16 The governour feared the wisedome and courage of his kinsman. 1607Topsell Serpents (1653) 681 If a bird it tast..It dies assured death, none need it fear. 1730–6Bailey (folio), Fear..to doubt or question.
▪ IV. fear(e
var. of fere, Obs., and of feir, Obs. Sc. |