えりして What is the meaning of this word?

[raintree_leaf]

It is from this sentence, "死にかけた恐怖で 子供がえりしていたらしい" It is a combination of 得る? Thanks for any help!

[Unknownymous]

Not really sure without kanji, but from saying it out aloud I'd have translated it as "choose" (選り, whose meaning has to do with choosing or selecting something, though I haven't encountered the word used that way before. It's usually 選ぶ).

If my guess is right, the sentence itself would then be translated as:
For fear of dying, [whoever is being spoken about] seemed to have chosen the child.

But again, like I said, saying it that way sounds a little strange to me (I'd have said 選ぶ), so there's a possibility I'm wrong.

[AzureDark]

No, I'm thinking that it's from 'kodomogaeri suru', a compound verb.

"(The subject) has been so terrified to death, he looks to have turned child-like." implying a near-death has traumatised the subject to an extent that it damaged their mental health.

[Datenshi]

I second that. Google indicates the phrase refers to a psycological symptom, where a person who has reached an age at which a certain level of independence is expected beings to rely heavily on a parental figure to an unhealthy level (a teenager to his parents, a husband to wife or vice versa). For your information, a more medical sounding equivalent appears to be 「退行」.

However, I suppose the definition is probably broadened enough in everyday usage to approximate the usage of what AzureDark said above.

I'm not positive but the appropriate kanji is probably 子ども返り.

返る (かえる）-> to return, to revert