Where does “fraught” come from?

Fraught comes from Middle English fraughten, derived from Middle Dutch vracht, which came from Old Saxon frāht, meaning cargo or freight.

fraught (English): The hire of a ship or boat to transport cargo;...

Definitions

  1. The hire of a ship or boat to transport cargo;...

Ancestry of “fraught”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishfraught
2Dutchvrachtfreight; a large amount, a mass
3Middle Dutchvrachtpayment for cargo; freight, load, cargo
4Middle Low Germanvrachtfreight money
5Old Saxonfrāht
6Proto-Germanicfra-off, away; completely, fully, up
7Proto-Indo-Europeanpro-toward, forward
8Proto-Indo-Europeanpor-to give birth; forward, through; going, passage
9Proto-Indo-Europeanper-before, in front; first; to go through
10Proto-Indo-Europeanpr̥tóspassed , crossed

Words derived from “fraught

Every word from Proto-Indo-European pr̥tós
fraught — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer