affront, to meet face to face, to encounter. Hamlet, iii. 1. 31; Ford, Perkin Warbeck, v. 1 (Dalyell). Affront, an accost, meeting. Greene, Tu Quoque, or The City Gallant; in Hazlitt’s Dodsley, xi. 265. F. affronter, ‘to come before, or face to face’ (Cotgr.).
affy, to betroth, 2 Hen. VI, iv. 1. 80; to affy in, to trust in, Titus Andron. i. 1. 47. Anglo-F. afier, ‘affirmer, assurer; mettre sa confiance en, se fier à’ (Moisy). Med. L. affidare, ‘fidem dare’ (Ducange).
afterclap, an unexpected consequence, generally unpleasant. Latimer, Serm. I, 27; after-claps, pl., Butler, Hudibras, i. 3. 4; Tusser, Husbandry, § 49; Taylor, Life of Old Parr (EDD.). In prov. use in various parts of England (EDD.).
agate, on the way. ‘Let him agate’; Brewer, Lingua, iii. 6 (Phantastes); ‘Let us be agate, let us start’; Interlude of Youth, in Hazlitt’s Dodsley, ii. 25. In prov. use in the north country, and in various other parts of England (EDD.).
agazed, astounded, amazed. Surrey, Description of Restless State, 44 in Tottel’s Misc. (ed. Arber, 4); agaz’d on, 1 Hen. VI, i. 1. 126. Prob. a variant of ME. agast (Wyclif), E. aghast.
agerdows, compounded of sour and sweet. Skelton, Garl. of Laurell, 1250. F. aigre-doux, sour-sweet. L. acer and dulcis.
aggrace, to shew grace and favour. Pt. t. agraste; Spenser, F. Q. i. 10. 18. Hence aggrace, sb. favour; id. ii. 8. 56. Ital. aggraziare, to confer a favour; agratiare, to favour (Florio). Med. L. aggratiare (Ducange).
aggrate, to please, delight, charm. Spenser, F. Q. iii. 6. 50; v. 11. 19; vi. 10. 33. Ital. aggratare, ‘to sute’ (Florio).
aglet, the metal end or tag of a lace. ‘He made hys pen of the aglet of a poynte that he plucked from hys hose’, Latimer, Serm. (ed. 1869, p. 117); a metallic stud or spangle. Spenser, F. Q. vi. 2. 5; ‘Tremolante, aglets or spangles’ (Florio). In Cumberland the metal end of a bootlace is called an aglet (EDD.). ME. aglet, to lace wyth alle (Prompt. Harl. MS.). F. aiguillette, a point (Cotgr.).
agloute, to feed to satisfaction, to glut. Caxton, Hist. of Troye, leaf 187, back, 14; lf. 41, back, 5. ME. aglotye (P. Plowman, C. x. 76). See NED. (s.v. Aglut).