Webster's 1828 Dictionary
AFEARD
a.Afeard is the participle passive. [See Fear. ] Afraid; affected with fear or apprehension, in a more moderate degree than is expressed by terrified. It is followed by of, but no longer used in books, and even in popular use, is deemed vulgar.
Webster's 1913 Dictionary
AFEARD
A *feard ", p. a. Etym: [OE. afered, AS. af, p. p. of af to frighten; a- (cf. Goth. us-, Ger. er-, orig. meaning out ) + fran to frighten. See Fear. ]
Defn: Afraid. [Obs. ] Be not afeard; the isle is full of noises. Shak.
New American Oxford Dictionary
afeard
a feard |əˈfi (ə )rd əˈfɪərd |(also afeared ) ▶adjective archaic or dialect afraid. ORIGIN Old English, from āfǣran ‘frighten, ’ from ā- (expressing intensity ) + fǣran (see fear ); used commonly by Shakespeare, but rarely after 1700 in written form.
The Wordsmith Dictionary