fray

Etymology 1

The verb is derived from Late Middle English fraien (“to beat so as to cause bruising, to bruise; to crush; to rub; to wear, wear off”), borrowed from Old French fraier, freier, freiier (modern French frayer (“to clear, open up (a path, etc.); (figuratively) to find one’s way through (something); (obsolete) to rub”)), from Latin fricāre, the present active infinitive of fricō (“to chafe; to rub”), an intensive form of friō (“to break into pieces, crumble; to rub”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰreyH- (“to cut”). Sense 1.2 (“to force or make (a path, way, etc.) through”) is derived from modern French frayer: see above. The noun is derived from the verb.

verb

1. (transitive)
   1. (also figurative) To rub or wear away (something); to cause (something made of strands twisted or woven together, such as cloth or rope) to unravel through friction; also, to irritate (something) through chafing or rubbing; to chafe.
      S. Paul alſo defineth the law to be the knowlege of ſyn, yͭ is, which accuſeth, frayeth the cõſcience, & maketh ſynnes knowen. 1538, Erasmus Sarcerius, “Of the Lawe of God”, in Richard Taverner, transl., Cõmon Places of Scripture Ordrely and after a Cõpendious Forme of Teachyng, Set Forth with No Litle Labour,[…], London: […] John Byddell,[…], →OCLC, folio lxv, recto
      1. (specifically) Of a deer: to rub (its antlers or head) against a tree, etc., to remove the velvet from antlers or to mark territory; also, to rub its antlers against (a tree, etc.) for that purpose.
   2. To force or make (a path, way, etc.) through.
   3. (obsolete) To bruise (someone or something); also, to take the virginity of (someone, usually a female person); to deflower.
2. (intransitive)
   1. To become unravelled or worn; to unravel.
      The laces frayed at the cut end.
   2. To rub.
      1. (specifically) Of a deer: to rub its antlers against a tree, etc., to remove the velvet or to mark territory.
   3. (figurative) Of a person's mental strength, nerves, temper, etc.: to become exhausted or worn out.
      The hectic day ended in her nerves frayed.

noun

1. (archaic or obsolete) A consequence of rubbing, unravelling, or wearing away; a fraying; also, a place where fraying has occurred.

Etymology 2

From Late Middle English fraien (“to attack, invade; to make an attack; to brawl, fight; to make a loud noise (?); to frighten, terrify; to be frightened of (something), fear”), an aphetic variant of affraien (“to attack, invade; to harass; to brawl, fight; to riot; to reproach; to frighten, terrify; to be frightened of (something), fear; to alarm, disturb; to arouse, awaken, excite”) (whence affray), from Anglo-Norman affraier, afrayer (“to frighten, terrify; to disquiet; to disturb”) [and other forms], a variant of effreier, esfreier [and other forms], and Old French effreer, esfreer (“to frighten, scare; to be afraid”) [and other forms] (modern French effrayer), from Vulgar Latin *exfridāre, from Latin ex- (prefix indicating privation) + Frankish *friþu (“peace”) (from Proto-Germanic *friþuz (“peace, tranquility; refuge, sanctuary”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *preyH- (“to love; to please”)).

verb

1. (transitive)
   1. (except poetic) To alarm or frighten (someone or something).
   2. Often followed by away, off, or out: to frighten or scare (someone or something) away.
   3. (by extension)
      1. To assail or attack (someone or something); to drive (someone or something) away by attacking.
      2. To chase (someone or something) away; to disperse.
         And this is it, that frayeth men from Chriſt, becauſe they are loath to vunder go his burthen and yoke, to caſt of the world, & leuing thẽſeluen behind thẽ to follow Chriſt. 1583, Bartimeus Andreas [i.e., Bartimaeus Andrewes], “Canticles. 6.”, in Certaine Verie Worthie, Godly and Profitable Sermons, upon the Fifth Chapiter of the Songs of Solomon:[…], London: […] Robert Waldegraue, for Thomas Man, →OCLC, page 35
2. (intransitive)
   1. To be afraid or frightened; to fear.
   2. To make an assault or attack; also, to create a disturbance; to brawl, to fight.

Etymology 3

From Late Middle English frai (“an assault, attack; a brawl, fight; disturbance, uproar; fine for assault or breach of the peace”), an aphetic variant of affrai, effrai (“an assault, attack; a brawl, fight; disturbance, uproar; public disturbance, riot; dismay; fear; something frightening”), then: * from affraien (verb); and * from Anglo-Norman affrai, affrei [and other forms], a variant of effray, effrei, esfrei, esfroi, Middle French effray, esfroi, and Old French effrei, esfrei, esfroi (“breach of the peace, disturbance; noise; dread, terror”) (modern French effroi (“(literary) dread, terror”)), from Old French effreer, esfreer (verb). See further at etymology 2.

noun

1. (countable) A noisy commotion, especially resulting from fighting; a brawl, a fight; also, a loud quarrel.
   Though they did not know the reason for the dispute, they did not hesitate to leap into the fray.
   Wigan, unbeaten in five games at the DW Stadium, looked well in control but the catalyst for Arsenal's improvement finally came when [Abou] Diaby left the field with a calf injury and Jack Wilshere came into the fray, bringing some much needed determination and urgency to lacklustre Arsenal. 29 December 2010, Mark Vesty, “Wigan 2 – 2 Arsenal”, in BBC Sport, archived from the original on 2021-06-09
   Carlos Fuller, Belize’s ambassador to the UN, said: “I can understand why the king was asked not to attend – keeping him out of the fray. However, as the principal UK policymaker and the Cop26 president, the PM should have led the summit. 2022-10-30, Fiona Harvey, quoting Carlos Fuller, “Global anger at Sunak’s Cop27 snub that raises fears over UK’s climate crisis stance”, in The Guardian
2. (countable, figurative) A heated argument; a war of words.
3. (uncountable) Conflict, disagreement.
4. (obsolete)
   1. (countable) An assault or attack.
   2. (countable) A loud noise; a cacophony, a din.
   3. (except Scotland, uncountable) Fright, terror; (countable) an instance of this.

Etymology 4

An aphetic variant of defray.

verb

1. (transitive, obsolete, rare) To bear the expense of (something); to defray.