esfereir

Possibly from feresa (“fierceness”).

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic) [əs.fə.ɾəˈi]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [es.fe.ɾeˈiɾ]

esfereir (first-person singular present esfereeixo, first-person singular preterite esfereí, past participle esfereït)

1. (transitive) to give a fright, to put the heart across one
2. (intransitive, pronominal) to be frightened
   • 1934, Joan Puig i Ferreter, Camins de França:

     Quan era petit i em trobava sol, se'm nuava el cor d'esglai i de dol i m'esfereïen visions estranyes.

     When I was small and found myself alone, my heart was choked with fright and pain and I was terrified by strange visions.

• “esfereir”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007