Meaning

adjective filled with fear or apprehension

adjective filled with regret or concern; used often to soften an unpleasant statement

adjective feeling worry or concern or insecurity

originFrom Middle English affrayed, affraied, past participle of afraien (“to affray”), from Anglo-Norman afrayer (“to terrify, disquiet, disturb”), from Old French effreer, esfreer (“to disturb, remove the peace from”), from es- (“out”) + freer (“to secure, secure the peace”), from Frankish *friþu (“security, peace”), from Proto-Germanic *friþuz (“peace”), from Proto-Germanic *frijōną (“to free; to…

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0