also 4–5 afrount, afront. [a. OFr. afronte-r, afrunte-r (cf. Pr. and Sp. afrontar, It. affrontare):—late L. affrontā-re, adfrontā-re f. ad front-em to the face. Afronter has in OFr. the meaning ‘to strike on the forehead, to slap in the face’; hence fig. to insult one to his face. The lit. meaning is not found in Eng.]
1. To insult (a person or thing personified) to his face, to treat with avowed or open indignity.
c. 1325. Pol. Songs (1839), 337. An if a pore man speke a word, he shal be foule afrounted.
1393. Langl., P. Pl., C. XXIII. 5. With neode ich mette That afrontede me foule.
1577. Hellowes, trans. Gueuara’s Gold. Ep., 2. Not to honor vs, but to affront vs.
1665. Glanville, Scepsis Sci., i. 1. We cannot, without affronting the Divine Goodness, deny but that at first we were made wise and happy.
1757. Burke, Abridgm. Eng. Hist., Wks. X. 496. The Duke of Austria whom he [Richard I.] had personally affronted at the siege of Acre.
1783. Cowper, Lett., 31 May, Wks. 1876, 132. The law of our land is affronted if we say the king dies.
1824. W. Irving, T. of Trav., II. 34. It would have been ruin to affront them.
2. To put to the blush; to offend the modesty or self-respect of; to cause to feel ashamed. refl. To feel affronted, to blush (obs.). (Said of the feeling produced rather than of the act or purpose).
1340. Ayenb., 229. Vor huo þet him y[e]fþ to voule wordes, hi ham ssolle naȝt ssamie and afrounti, þet is to zigge, hi lyezeþ þe ssame.
1673. Cave, Primit. Chr., II. ii. 33. Without affronting their modesty.
1707. Farquhar, Beaux’ Strat., I. i. 9. Let me look you full in the Face, and I’ll tell you whether you can affront me or no.
1741. H. Walpole, Lett. to H. Mann, 13 (1834), I. 38. Your friend Lord Sandwich affronted his Grace of Grafton extremely.
1809. Pinkney, Trav. France, 22. [He] would have affronted you by his sulky reserve.
c. 1860. Maurice, Mor. & Metaph. Philos., IV. viii. § 56. 498. [It] does not affront the family feeling.
3. To face in defiance; confront. Now chiefly fig., as to affront death.
1563. Grafton, Q. Mary, an. 6 (R.). King Philip and the French King with two most puyssaunt armies affronted eche other neere vnto the water of Some.
1596. Spenser, F. Q., IV. iii. 22. Who, him affronting soone, to fight was readie prest.
1661. Bramhall, Just. Vind., vii. 188. How their Kings … have all of them, in all ages, affronted and curbed the Roman Court.
1856. Bryant, Knight’s Epitaph, 37. He … affronted death In battle-field.
1863. Kinglake, Crimea (1877), III. i. 50. He was affronting great risk without due motive.
† b. To meet in hostile encounter, to attack. Obs.
1600. Holland, Livy, I. xxv. 18 g. These brave brethren … affronted [concurrunt] one another, and with cruell and mortall weapons gave the charge.
1642. Rogers, Naaman, 96. A shrewd right winde, gets into the hollow of the tree, and affronts it on the rotten side.
1700. Dryden, Fabl. Cock & Fox, 643. [He] affronted once a cock of noble kind, And either lam’d his legs or struck him blind.
† 4. To meet intentionally or of purpose, to throw oneself in the way of, accost, address. Obs.
1602. Shaks., Haml., III. i. 31. That he, as ’twere by accident, may there Affront Ophelia.
1633. T. Adams, Exp. 2 Pet. ii. 13 (1865), 458/1. So Jezebel painted her face, and affronted Jehu cut of the window.
5. To front, to face in position; to look toward. arch.
1600. Holland, Livy, XLIII. xviii. 1166 m. Macedonie, which regardeth and affronteth Illyricum.
1655. Fuller, Ch. Hist., I. v. 33. But it abated the Puissance thereof [i.e., of Mercia], because on the West it affronted the Britans, being deadly enemies.
a. 1658. Cleveland, Gen. Poems, &c. (1677), 166. We see the Sun better by looking into the Waters, than by affronting his Beams.
1873. Browning, Red Cott. Nt.-cap, 654. On emergence, what affronts our gaze?
† 6. fig. To face anticipatively; to prepare to meet; look out for. Obs. rare.
1611. Shaks., Cymb., IV. iii. 29. Your preparation can affront no lesse Then what you heare off. Come more, for more you ’re ready.
† 7. causal. To confront one thing with another; to set face to face. Obs. rare.
1606. Shaks., Tr. & Cr., III. ii. 173. That my integritie and truth to you, Might be affronted with the match and waight Of such a winnowed puritie in loue.
