dredful
Middle English
Alternative forms
- dredeful, dredefull, dredefulle, dredffol, dredfull, dreedful, dreful, drefull, drefulle
- dredvol, dredvoll (Gloucestershire, Kent)
Etymology
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈdrɛdful/, /ˈdrɛ̝ːdful/
Adjective
dredful
- Having dread or fear:
- Scared, afraid; fearing something.
- Timid; tending to be frightened.
- Full of awe; reverential.
- Inspiring dread or fear:
- Causing terror or ruin; dreadful, perilous.
- c. 1370, [William Langland], “[Passus 8]”, in Petrus plowmon (V, A-text), Worcestershire, published c. 1390, folio 400, recto; republished as Bodleian Library MS. Eng. poet. a. 1, Oxford: Digital Bodleian, 10 January 2019:
- At þe dredful day of dom. þͬ dede ſchullen a rẏſen. / And comen alle bi foꝛe criſt. and a Coũtes ȝelden.
- At the dreaded day of judgement, the dead will rise up, / and all come before Christ to give their accounts.
- Causing awe; awe-inspiring.
- Causing terror or ruin; dreadful, perilous.
Descendants
- English: dreadful
- Scots: dreidfu
References
- “drēdeful, adj.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.