To frighten or alarm someone; an archaic or poetic word meaning to cause fear.
From Old English 'afrihtan' (to frighten), with 'a-' being a prefix and 'fright' from Germanic roots meaning sudden fear. Used extensively in Middle English literature.
Shakespeare and other Renaissance writers loved 'afright' because it sounds more dramatic than 'frighten'—the 'a-' prefix at the start gave verbs extra emphasis, like we might add 'super-' today.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.