To charter a ship or vehicle for freight or cargo transportation; an archaic variant of 'freight.'
From Old French 'freter' (to load a ship), related to 'freight.' This is an earlier form that became somewhat obsolete as 'freight' and 'charter' became standard English maritime terminology.
This word shows how maritime terminology in English has been refined over centuries—we eventually standardized on 'charter' and 'freight' as clearer terms, abandoning earlier variants that meant similar things.
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