The sow frete the child right in the cradle.
--Chaucer.
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.
With many a curve my banks I fret. --Tennyson.
3. To impair; to wear away; to diminish.
By starts His fretted fortunes give him hope and
fear. --Shak.
4. To make rough, agitate, or disturb; to cause to ripple;
as, to fret the surface of water.
5. To tease; to irritate; to vex.
Fret not thyself because of evil doers. --Ps.
xxxvii. 1.