'Fretting' definitions:

Definition of 'Fretting'

From: GCIDE
  • Fret \Fret\ (fr[e^]t), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Fretted; p. pr. & vb. n. Fretting.] [OE. freten to eat, consume; AS. fretan, for foretan; pref. for- + etan to eat; akin to D. vreten, OHG. frezzan, G. fressen, Sw. fr[aum]ta, Goth. fra-itan. See For, and Eat, v. t.]
  • 1. To devour. [Obs.] [1913 Webster]
  • The sow frete the child right in the cradle. --Chaucer. [1913 Webster]
  • 2. 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. [1913 Webster]
  • With many a curve my banks I fret. --Tennyson. [1913 Webster]
  • 3. To impair; to wear away; to diminish. [1913 Webster]
  • By starts His fretted fortunes give him hope and fear. --Shak. [1913 Webster]
  • 4. To make rough, agitate, or disturb; to cause to ripple; as, to fret the surface of water. [1913 Webster]
  • 5. To tease; to irritate; to vex. [1913 Webster]
  • Fret not thyself because of evil doers. --Ps. xxxvii. 1. [1913 Webster]