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fray - 13 dictionary results

fray

1  [frey]
Use fray in a Sentence
–noun
1. a fight, battle, or skirmish.
2. a competition or contest, esp. in sports.
3. a noisy quarrel or brawl.
4. Archaic. fright.
–verb (used with object)
5. Archaic. to frighten.
–verb (used without object)
6. Archaic. to fight or brawl.
Origin:
1250–1300; ME frai; aph. var. of affray

fray

2  [frey]
–verb (used with object)
1. to wear (cloth, rope, etc.) to loose, raveled threads or fibers at the edge or end; cause to ravel out.
2. to wear by rubbing (sometimes fol. by through).
3. to cause strain on (something); upset; discompose: The argument frayed their nerves.
4. to rub.
–verb (used without object)
5. to become frayed, as cloth; ravel out: My sweater frayed at the elbows.
6. to rub against something: tall grass fraying against my knees.
–noun
7. a frayed part, as in cloth: frays at the toes of well-worn sneakers.
Origin:
1375–1425; late ME fraien < OF frayer, freiier to rub < L fricāre. See friction
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To fray
fray 1   (frā)   
n.  
  1. A scuffle; a brawl. See Synonyms at brawl.
  2. A heated dispute or contest.
tr.v.   frayed, fray·ing, frays Archaic
  1. To alarm; frighten.
  2. To drive away.

[Middle English frai, shortening of affrai; see affray.]
fray 2   (frā)   
v.   frayed, fray·ing, frays

v.   tr.
  1. To strain; chafe: repeated noises that fray the nerves.
  2. To wear away (the edges of fabric, for example) by rubbing.
v.   intr.
To become worn away or tattered along the edges.
n.  A frayed or threadbare spot, as on fabric.

[Middle English fraien, to wear, bruise, from Old French fraier, to rub, from Latin fricāre.]
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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Fray

Fray\ (fr[=a]), n. [Abbreviated from affray.] Affray; broil; contest; combat.

Who began this bloody fray? --Shak.

Fray

Fray\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Frayed (fr[=a]d); p. pr. & vb. n. Fraying.] [See 1st Fray, and cf. Affray.] To frighten; to terrify; to alarm. --I. Taylor.

What frays ye, that were wont to comfort me affrayed? --Spenser.

Fray

Fray\, v. t. [Cf. OF. fraier. See Defray, v. t.] To bear the expense of; to defray. [Obs.]

The charge of my most curious and costly ingredients frayed, I shall acknowledge myself amply satisfied. --Massinger.

Fray

Fray\, v. t. [OF. freier, fraier, froier, to rub. L. fricare; cf. friare to crumble, E. friable; perh. akin to Gr. chri`ein to anoint, chri^sma an anointing, Skr. gh[.r]sh to rub, scratch. Cf. Friction.] To rub; to wear off, or wear into shreds, by rubbing; to fret, as cloth; as, a deer is said to fray her head.

Fray

Fray\, v. i. 1. To rub.

We can show the marks he made When 'gainst the oak his antlers frayed. --Sir W. Scott.

2. To wear out or into shreads, or to suffer injury by rubbing, as when the threads of the warp or of the woof wear off so that the cross threads are loose; to ravel; as, the cloth frays badly.

A suit of frayed magnificience. --tennyson.

Fray

Fray\, n. A fret or chafe, as in cloth; a place injured by rubbing.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : fray
Spanish: deshilacharse, raerse,
German: ausfransen,
Japanese: すり切らす
More Translations »

fray  (n.)
c.1340, "feeling of alarm," shortening of affray (q.v.; see also afraid). Meaning "a brawl, a fight" is from c.1420.

fray  (v.)
"wear out by rubbing," c.1405, from M.Fr. frayer, from O.Fr. freier, from L. fricare "to rub."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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fray

see enter the lists (fray).

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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