Fraught
/frɔːt/noun
Filled or loaded with something undesirable, or causing a lot of worry and difficulty.
Did you know?Fraught comes from the same Dutch and Germanic seafaring root as freight, so its modern emotional meaning grew out of the physical image of a ship packed tight with goods.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*frahtaz
“Carried, loaded, or freighted.”
Middle Dutch
Dutch
vrachte
“Cargo, freight, or a load carried by a ship.”
Middle English
English
fraughten
“To load, furnish, or equip with cargo.”
14th-15th Century
English
fraught
“Loaded, filled, or equipped; especially of a ship packed with goods.”
Modern English
English
fraught
“Full of or accompanied by something troublesome, tense, or risky.”
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