affrightern.
/əˈfrʌɪtə/, U.S. /əˈfraɪdər/ archaic and rare after 17th cent.
A frightening person or thing. Frequently with of.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > fear > quality of inspiring fear > [noun] > one who or that which inspires fear
eyeeOE
awea1325
dreadc1400
hideousc1420
scare1530
fear1535
fray-buga1555
dismayer1591
frightment1607
frighter?1611
affrighter1612
frightful1727
scarer1741
scare-sinner1765
scare-christian1772
scare-beggar1806
redoubtable1808
scare sleep1817
frightener1841
scare-bear1843
scare-bullfinch1849
scare-goose1887
ogreism1902
1612 T. Shelton tr. M. de Cervantes Don-Quixote: Pt. 1 iv. xxv. 586 The protector of Damzels, the affrighter of Giants.
a1631 R. Bolton Three-fold Treat.: Saints Guide (1634) App. 241 The Plague, that great affrighter, and terror of the sonnes of men.
1650 I. Penington Severall Fresh Inward Openings 9 God..appeared with terror, as an affrighter and devourer of them.
1849 E. Robinson Maid of Orleans (1850) xxxiii. 152/1 This noble peasant-girl, your victorious rival, and the affrighter of your beloved dastard.
1920 L. Spence Encycl. Occultism 105/2 We find him [sc. the cock] alluded to in the Zoroastrian books as the..affrighter of demons.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2012; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
<
n.1612