Bible Dictionary: Fret

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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary

1. (n.) See Frith.

2. (v. t.) To devour.

3. (v. t.) To rub; to wear away by friction; to chafe; to gall; hence, to eat away; to gnaw; as, to fret cloth; to fret a piece of gold or other metal; a worm frets the plants of a ship.

4. (v. t.) To impair; to wear away; to diminish.

5. (v. t.) To make rough, agitate, or disturb; to cause to ripple; as, to fret the surface of water.

6. (v. t.) To tease; to irritate; to vex.

7. (v. i.) To be worn away; to chafe; to fray; as, a wristband frets on the edges.

8. (v. i.) To eat in; to make way by corrosion.

9. (v. i.) To be agitated; to be in violent commotion; to rankle; as, rancor frets in the malignant breast.

10. (v. i.) To be vexed; to be chafed or irritated; to be angry; to utter peevish expressions.

11. (n.) The agitation of the surface of a fluid by fermentation or other cause; a rippling on the surface of water.

12. (n.) Agitation of mind marked by complaint and impatience; disturbance of temper; irritation; as, he keeps his mind in a continual fret.

13. (n.) Herpes; tetter.

14. (n.) The worn sides of river banks, where ores, or stones containing them, accumulate by being washed down from the hills, and thus indicate to the miners the locality of the veins.

15. (v. t.) To ornament with raised work; to variegate; to diversify.

16. (n.) Ornamental work in relief, as carving or embossing. See Fretwork.

17. (n.) An ornament consisting of small fillets or slats intersecting each other or bent at right angles, as in classical designs, or at oblique angles, as often in Oriental art.

18. (n.) The reticulated headdress or net, made of gold or silver wire, in which ladies in the Middle Ages confined their hair.

19. (n.) A saltire interlaced with a muscle.

20. (n.) A short piece of wire, or other material fixed across the finger board of a guitar or a similar instrument, to indicate where the finger is to be placed.

21. (v. t.) To furnish with frets, as an instrument of music.

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

FRET, FRETTING

(charah, ma'ar):

To "fret" is from for (prefix) and etan, "to eat," "to consume." The word is both transitive and intransitive in King James Version:

(1) transitive as translation of charah, "to burn," Hithpael, "to fret one's self," "to be angry" (Psalm 37:1, "Fret not thyself because of evil-doers"; Psalm 37:7, 8 Proverbs 24:19); of qatsaph, "to be angry," etc. (Isaiah 8:21, "They shall fret themselves, and curse," etc.); of raghaz, to be moved" (with anger, etc.) (Ezekiel 16:43, "Thou hast fretted me in all these things," the American Standard Revised Version "raged against me"). For Leviticus 13:55, see under Fretting below.

(2) Intransitive, it is the translation of ra`am, "to rage," Hiphil, "to provoke to anger" (1 Samuel 1:6, "Her rival provoked her sore, to make her fret"); of za`aph, "to be sad," "to fret" (Proverbs 19:3, "His heart fretteth against Yahweh").

Fretting in the sense of eating away, consuming, is used of the leprosy, ma'ar, "to be sharp, bitter, painful" (Leviticus 13:51, 52; Leviticus 14:44, "a fretting leprosy"; in Leviticus 13:55 we have "it (is) fret inward" ("fret" past participle), as the translation of pehetheth from pahath, "to dig" (a pit), the word meaning "a depression," "a hollow or sunken spot in a garment affected by a kind of leprosy," the Revised Version (British and American) "it is a fret."

Revised Version has "fretful" for "angry" (Proverbs 21:19), margin "vexation."

W. L. Walker

Strong's Hebrew

2734. charah -- to burn or be kindled with anger
... 1), became angry (4), became furious (1), became...angry (3), burn (5), burned
(29), burns (1), compete (1), competing (1), distressed (1), fret (4), kindled ...
/hebrew/2734.htm - 6k

7107. qatsaph -- to be angry
... be angry, displease, fret self, provoke to wrath come, be wroth. A primitive
root; to crack off, ie (figuratively) burst out in rage ...
/hebrew/7107.htm - 6k

7481. raam -- to thunder
... make to fret, roar, thunder, trouble. A primitive root; to tumble, ie Be violently
agitated; specifically, to crash (of thunder); figuratively ...
/hebrew/7481.htm - 6k

6356. pechetheth -- a boring or eating out
... fret inward. From the same as pachath; a hole (by mildew in a garment) -- fret inward.
see HEBREW pachath. 6355, 6356. pechetheth. 6357 . Strong's Numbers.
/hebrew/6356.htm - 6k

7264. ragaz -- to be agitated, quiver, quake, be excited ...
... be afraid, stand in awe, disquiet, fall out, fret, move, provoke, quake,. A
primitive root; to quiver (with any violent emotion, especially ...
/hebrew/7264.htm - 6k

2196. zaaph -- to be vexed, be enraged
... fret, sad, worse liking, be wroth. A primitive root; properly, to boil up, ie
(figuratively) to be peevish or angry -- fret, sad, worse liking, be wroth. ...
/hebrew/2196.htm - 6k

Library

Fret not Thyself
... TALK THIRTY. FRET NOT THYSELF. To fret means to chafe, to be irritated,
to be uneasy, to be troubled and bothered. It is just the ...
//christianbookshelf.org/naylor/heart talks/talk thirty fret not thyself.htm

Fret Not. September 19.
... Fret not. September 19. Fret not, neither be anxious. What God intends to
do He will do. And what we ask believing we shall receive. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/kingsley/daily thoughts /fret not september 19.htm

April 24. "Fret not Thyself in any Wise" (Ps. xxxvii. 8).
... APRIL 24. "Fret not thyself in any wise" (Ps. xxxvii. 8). "Fret not thyself
in any wise" (Psalm 37:8). A life was lost in Israel ...
/.../simpson/days of heaven upon earth /april 24 fret not thyself.htm

Psalm 37
... 8,6,8,6. ^1For evil-doers fret thou not. thyself unquietly; ... 7Rest in the Lord, and
patiently. wait for him: do not fret. For him who, prosp'ring in his way,. ...
/...//christianbookshelf.org/anonymous/scottish psalter and paraphrases/psalm 37.htm

Of the Cause of Cain's Crime and his Obstinacy, which not Even the ...
... Fret not thyself, for unto thee shall be his turning, and thou shalt rule over him."
[785] In this admonition administered by God to Cain, that clause indeed ...
//christianbookshelf.org/augustine/city of god/chapter 7 of the cause of.htm

The Distracted Mind
... They fret themselves, they weary themselves, they waste their brains and
hearts"and sometimes their honesty besides"and if they fail, as in the chances and ...
/.../kingsley/all saints day and other sermons/sermon xxxix the distracted mind.htm

Jesus and the Bethany Sisters.
... Jesus did not say she was wrong; he only reminded Martha that she ought
not to let things fret and vex her. "Martha, Martha, thou ...
/.../miller/personal friendships of jesus/chapter x jesus and the.htm

Do Your Best --Leave the Rest.
... The old version seems a bit puzzling, "Fret not thyself in anywise to do evil."
The revision reads, "Fret not thyself, it tendeth only to evil doing." The ...
/.../gordon/quiet talks on service/do your bestleave the rest.htm

Fear Not.
... In the Old Testament is the Thirty-seventh Psalm with its oft-repeated "fret not."
The word under that English phrase "fret not" is significant. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/gordon/quiet talks on service/fear not.htm

He Careth for Thee.
... Fret over nothing, never worry for a moment. ... I was asked one time if it was possible
to reach an experience where we would never fret or worry. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/orr/how to live a holy life/he careth for thee.htm

Thesaurus

Fret (9 Occurrences)
... 3. (vt) To rub; to wear away by friction; to chafe; to gall; hence, to eat away;
to gnaw; as, to fret cloth; to fret a piece of gold or other metal; a worm ...
/f/fret.htm - 13k

Fretting (6 Occurrences)
... Noah Webster's Dictionary (p. pr. & vb. n.) of Fret. Int. Standard Bible
Encyclopedia. FRET, FRETTING. (charah, ma'ar): To "fret...
/f/fretting.htm - 10k

Chafe (1 Occurrence)
... warm. 2. (vt) To excite passion or anger in; to fret; to irritate. 3. (vt)
To fret and wear by rubbing; as, to chafe a cable. 4. (vi ...
/c/chafe.htm - 7k

Evildoers (46 Occurrences)
... Used generally of the ungodly, as, "Fret not thyself because of evil-doers." (Psalm
37:1). Sometimes also of personal offenders: "He hath delivered the soul of ...
/e/evildoers.htm - 18k

Gall (17 Occurrences)
... 7. (vt) To fret and wear away by friction; to hurt or break the skin of by rubbing;
to chafe; to injure the surface of by attrition; as, a saddle galls the ...
/g/gall.htm - 17k

Worry (14 Occurrences)
... 2. (vt) To harass or beset with importunity, or with care an anxiety; to vex;
to annoy; to torment; to tease; to fret; to trouble; to plague. ...
/w/worry.htm - 10k

Irritate (2 Occurrences)
... 5. (n.) To make morbidly excitable, or oversensitive; to fret; as, the skin is
irritated by friction; to irritate a wound by a coarse bandage. ...
/i/irritate.htm - 7k

Fray (4 Occurrences)
... 4. (vt) To rub; to wear off, or wear into shreds, by rubbing; to fret, as
cloth; as, a deer is said to fray her head. 5. (vi) To rub. ...
/f/fray.htm - 8k

Envious (16 Occurrences)
... Psalms 37:1 By David. Don't fret because of evildoers, neither be envious against
those who work unrighteousness. (WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV). ...
/e/envious.htm - 11k

Doers (34 Occurrences)
... (See NAS RSV NIV). Psalms 37:1 By David. Don't fret because of evildoers,
neither be envious against those who work unrighteousness. ...
/d/doers.htm - 15k

Bible Concordance

Fret (9 Occurrences)

Colossians 3:21 Fathers, do not fret and harass your children, or you may make them sullen and morose.
(WEY)

Leviticus 13:55 And the priest shall look on the plague, after that it is washed: and, behold, if the plague have not changed his color, and the plague be not spread; it is unclean; thou shalt burn it in the fire; it is fret inward, whether it be bare within or without.
(KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS YLT)

1 Samuel 1:6 Her rival provoked her sore, to make her fret, because Yahweh had shut up her womb.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS)

Psalms 37:1 By David. Don't fret because of evildoers, neither be envious against those who work unrighteousness.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Psalms 37:7 Rest in Yahweh, and wait patiently for him. Don't fret because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who makes wicked plots happen.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Psalms 37:8 Cease from anger, and forsake wrath. Don't fret, it leads only to evildoing.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Proverbs 24:19 Don't fret yourself because of evildoers; neither be envious of the wicked:
(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Isaiah 8:21 And they shall pass through it, hardly bestead and hungry: and it shall come to pass, that when they shall be hungry, they shall fret themselves, and curse their king and their God, and look upward.
(KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS)

Jeremiah 12:5 For -- with footmen thou hast run, And they weary thee, And how dost thou fret thyself with horses! Even in the land of peace, 'In which' thou art confident -- And how dost thou in the rising of Jordan!
(YLT)

Subtopics

Fret

Related Terms

Fretting (6 Occurrences)

Chafe (1 Occurrence)

Evildoers (46 Occurrences)

Gall (17 Occurrences)

Worry (14 Occurrences)

Irritate (2 Occurrences)

Fray (4 Occurrences)

Envious (16 Occurrences)

Doers (34 Occurrences)