An archaic or dialectal term meaning distressed, overwrought, or in a state of extreme agitation.
From Old English 'for-' (thoroughly, excessively) + 'straught' (past tense of 'stretch' or 'strain'). This combines the intensifier with the idea of being stretched to one's limits emotionally.
Words like 'forstraught' are almost extinct, but they reveal how medieval English people expressed emotional overwhelm—not with a modern adjective like 'stressed,' but by picturing someone literally stretched beyond their limits.
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