Distract, a.
Etymology: [L. distractus, p. p. of distrahere to draw asunder; dis- + trahere to draw. See Trace, and cf. Distraught.]
1. Separated; drawn asunder. [Obs.]
2. Insane; mad. [Obs.] Drayton.
1 other Webster entry under this spelling
Distract, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Distracted, old p. p. Distraught; p. pr. & vb. n. Distracting.]
1. To draw apart or away; to divide; to disjoin. A city . . . distracted from itself. Fuller.
2. To draw (the sight, mind, or attention) in different directions; to perplex; to confuse; as, to distract the eye; to distract the attention. Mixed metaphors . . . distract the imagination. Goldsmith.
3. To agitate by conflicting passions, or by a variety of motives or of cares; to confound; to harass. Horror and doubt distract His troubled thoughts. Milton.
4. To unsettle the reason of; to render insane; to craze; to madden; -- most frequently used in the participle, distracted. A poor mad soul; . . . poverty hath distracted her. Shak.
Shades of meaning
Fernald has no entry of its own for distract; he lists it under abstract.
He lists it without comment; the entries above explain its neighbors.