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affray - 6 dictionary results

af⋅fray

  [uh-frey]
Use affray in a Sentence
–noun
1. a public fight; a noisy quarrel; brawl.
2. Law. the fighting of two or more persons in a public place.
–verb (used with object)
3. Archaic. to frighten.
Origin:
1275–1325; ME < AF afray (n.), afrayer (v.), OF esfrei (n.), esfreer (v.) < VL *exfridāre to break the peace, equiv. to ex- ex- 1 + -frid- peace (< Gmc; cf. G Friede) + -āre inf. suffix

Synonyms:
1. row, fracas, altercation, melee.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To affray
af·fray   (ə-frā')   
n.  A noisy quarrel or brawl.
tr.v.   af·frayed, af·fray·ing, af·frays Archaic
To frighten.

[Middle English, from Old French effrei, esfrei, from esfraier, esfreer, to disturb; see prī- 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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Affray

Af*fray"\, v. t. [p. p. Affrayed.] [OE. afraien, affraien, OF. effreer, esfreer, F. effrayer, orig. to disquiet, put out of peace, fr. L. ex + OHG. fridu peace (akin to E. free). Cf. Afraid, Fray, Frith inclosure.] [Archaic]

1. To startle from quiet; to alarm.

Smale foules a great heap That had afrayed [affrayed] me out of my sleep. --Chaucer.

2. To frighten; to scare; to frighten away.

That voice doth us affray. --Shak.

Affray

Af*fray"\, n. [OE. afrai, affrai, OF. esfrei, F. effroi, fr. OF. esfreer. See Affray, v. t.]

1. The act of suddenly disturbing any one; an assault or attack. [Obs.]

2. Alarm; terror; fright. [Obs.] --Spenser.

3. A tumultuous assault or quarrel; a brawl; a fray. "In the very midst of the affray." --Motley.

4. (Law) The fighting of two or more persons, in a public place, to the terror of others. --Blackstone.

Note: A fighting in private is not, in a legal sense, an affray.

Syn: Quarrel; brawl; scuffle; encounter; fight; contest; feud; tumult; disturbance.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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affray  (n.)
1303, "state of alarm produced by a sudden disturbance," from O.Fr. effrei "disturbance, fright," from Gallo-Romance *exfridare, lit. "to take out of peace," from L. ex- "out of" + Frank. *frithu "peace," from P.Gmc. *frithuz "consideration, forbearance," from PIE base *pri- "to be friendly, love" (cf. O.C.S. prijati "to aid, help," Skt. prija- "beloved"). Meaning "breach of the peace, riotous fight in public" is from 1482. Related verb afrey (1314) survives almost exclusively in its pp., afraid (q.v.).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Main Entry: af·fray
Pronunciation: &-'frA
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle French affrai effrai fright, disturbance, from affraier effreer to terrify
: a fight between two or more people in a public place that disturbs the peace
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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