Where does “dreadful” come from?

Dreadful comes from Middle English dredful, meaning full of dread or fear.

dreadful (English): Full of something causing dread, "whether"; Full...

Definitions

  1. Full of something causing dread, "whether"; Full...

Ancestry of “dreadful”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle EnglishdredfulHaving dread or fear
2Middle EnglishdredFear, dread; the state of being frightened
3Middle EnglishdredenTo fear or dread
4Old Englishdrǣdanto fear, dread
5Old Englishondrǣdanto fear, dread
6Proto-West Germanicandarādanto be afraid, fear; to be in awe
7Proto-West Germanicanda-against, opposing; in return, back; facing,...
8Proto-Germanicanda-against, opposing; un-, de-
9Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂éntiopposite; near; in front
10Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂éntsforehead; front
11Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂ent-face; forehead; front
12Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂en-on, onto

Words derived from “dreadful”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₂en- →