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. fräta, 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 ]

n. [ Obs. ] See 1st Frith. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ OE. fretten to adorn, AS. frætwan, frætwian; akin to OS. fratahōn, cf. Goth. us-fratwjan to make wise, also AS. frætwe ornaments, OS. fratahī adornment. ] To ornament with raised work; to variegate; to diversify. [ 1913 Webster ]

Whose skirt with gold was fretted all about. Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

Yon gray lines,
That fret the clouds, are messengers of day. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. The agitation of the surface of a fluid by fermentation or other cause; a rippling on the surface of water. Addison. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Agitation of mind marked by complaint and impatience; disturbance of temper; irritation; as, he keeps his mind in a continual fret. [ 1913 Webster ]

Yet then did Dennis rave in furious fret. Pope. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Herpes; tetter. Dunglison. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. pl. (Mining) 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. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. Ornamental work in relief, as carving or embossing. See Fretwork. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Arch.) 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. [ 1913 Webster ]

His lady's cabinet is a adorned on the fret, ceiling, and chimney-piece with . . . carving. Evelyn. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. The reticulated headdress or net, made of gold or silver wire, in which ladies in the Middle Ages confined their hair. [ 1913 Webster ]

A fret of gold she had next her hair. Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

Fret saw, a saw with a long, narrow blade, used in cutting frets, scrolls, etc.; a scroll saw; a keyhole saw; a compass saw. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ F. frette a saltire, also a hoop, ferrule, prob. a dim. of L. ferrum iron. For sense 2, cf. also E. fret to rub. ] 1. (Her.) A saltire interlaced with a mascle. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Mus.) 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. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. 1. To be worn away; to chafe; to fray; as, a wristband frets on the edges. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To eat in; to make way by corrosion. [ 1913 Webster ]

Many wheals arose, and fretted one into another with great excoriation. Wiseman. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To be agitated; to be in violent commotion; to rankle; as, rancor frets in the malignant breast. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. To be vexed; to be chafed or irritated; to be angry; to utter peevish expressions. [ 1913 Webster ]

He frets, he fumes, he stares, he stamps the ground. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To furnish with frets, as an instrument of music. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ See 2d Fret. ] Disposed to fret; ill-humored; peevish; angry; in a state of vexation; as, a fretful temper. -- Fret"ful*ly, adv. -- Fret"ful*ness, n.

Syn. -- Peevish; ill-humored; ill-natured; irritable; waspish; captious; petulant; splenetic; spleeny; passionate; angry. -- Fretful, Peevish, Cross. These words all indicate an unamiable working and expression of temper. Peevish marks more especially the inward spirit: a peevish man is always ready to find fault. Fretful points rather to the outward act, and marks a complaining impatience: sickly children are apt to be fretful. Crossness is peevishness mingled with vexation or anger. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A narrow-bladed fine-toothed saw for cutting curved outlines.
Syn. -- jigsaw, scroll saw. [ WordNet 1.5 ]