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Bray - 10 dictionary results

bray

1  [brey]
Use Bray in a Sentence
–noun
1. the loud, harsh cry of a donkey.
2. any similar loud, harsh sound.
–verb (used without object)
3. to utter a loud and harsh cry, as a donkey.
4. to make a loud, harsh, disagreeable sound.
–verb (used with object)
5. to utter with a loud, harsh sound, like a donkey.
Origin:
1250–1300; ME brayen < OF braire to cry out (c. ML bragīre to neigh) < Celtic; cf. OIr braigid (he) breaks wind

bray

2  [brey]
–verb (used with object)
1. to pound or crush fine, as in a mortar.
2. Printing. to thin (ink) on a slate before placing on the ink plate of a press.
Origin:
1350–1400; ME brayen < AF bra(i)er, OF broier < Gmc; see break
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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bray 1   (brā)   
v.   brayed, bray·ing, brays

v.   intr.
  1. To utter the loud, harsh cry of a donkey.
  2. To sound loudly and harshly: The foghorn brayed all night.
v.   tr.
To emit (an utterance or a sound) loudly and harshly.
n.  
  1. The loud, harsh cry of a donkey.
  2. A sound resembling that of a donkey: "an endless bray of pointless jocosity" (Louis Auchincloss).

[Middle English braien, from Old French braire, from Vulgar Latin *bragere, of Celtic origin.]
bray 2   (brā)   
tr.v.   brayed, bray·ing, brays
  1. To crush and pound to a fine consistency, as in a mortar.
  2. To spread (ink) thinly over a surface.

[Middle English braien, from Old French breier, of Germanic origin; see bhreg- in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Bray

Bray\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Brayed; p. pr. & vb. n. Braying.] [OE. brayen, OF. breier, F. broyer to pound, grind, fr. OHG. brehhan to break. See Break.] To pound, beat, rub, or grind small or fine.

Though thou shouldest bray a fool in a mortar, . . . yet will not his foolishness depart from him. --Prov. xxvii. 22.

Bray

Bray\, v. i. [OE brayen, F. braire to bray, OF. braire to cry, fr. LL. bragire to whinny; perh. fr. the Celtic and akin to E. break; or perh. of imitative origin.]

1. To utter a loud, harsh cry, as an ass.

Laugh, and they Return it louder than an ass can bray. --Dryden.

2. To make a harsh, grating, or discordant noise.

Heard ye the din of battle bray? --Gray.

Bray

Bray\, v. t. To make or utter with a loud, discordant, or harsh and grating sound.

Arms on armor clashing, brayed Horrible discord. --MIlton.

And varying notes the war pipes brayed. --Sir W. Scott.

Bray

Bray\, n. The harsh cry of an ass; also, any harsh, grating, or discordant sound.

The bray and roar of multitudinous London. --Jerrold.

Bray

Bray\, n. [OE. braye, brey, brew, eyebrow, brow of a hill, hill, bank, Scot. bra, brae, bray, fr. AS. br?w eyebrow, influenced by the allied Icel. br? eyebrow, bank, also akin to AS. br? yebrow. See Brow.] A bank; the slope of a hill; a hill. See Brae, which is now the usual spelling. [North of Eng. & Scot.] --Fairfax.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : Bray
Spanish: rebuzno,
German: der Eselsschrei,
Japanese: ろばの鳴き声
More Translations »

bray  (v.)
c.1300, from O.Fr. braire "to cry," from Gallo-Romance *bragire "to cry out," perhaps from a Celtic source (cf. Gael. braigh "to shriek, crackle"), probably imitative.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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