I. ˈbrā verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English brayen, from Old French braire to cry, make a noise, from (assumed) Vulgar Latin bragere, of Celtic origin; akin to Middle Irish braigid he breaks wind, t-air- brech crashing noise; akin to Latin fragor crashing noise, frangere to break — more at break
intransitive verb
1. obsolete : to cry out (as in pain)
2.
a. of a donkey : to utter a characteristic loud harsh cry
b. : to utter a loud harsh sound resembling or suggesting that made by a donkey
the sea lions braying and moving in the green sapphire waters — Josephine Johnson
cannon roared, trumpets brayed — S.E.Morison
the politicians wept, ranted, and brayed
transitive verb
: to utter, play, or send forth loudly, harshly, or discordantly
a brass band braying the national anthem
she brayed out her grievances before the judge
II. noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English, from Old French brait, from braire
1. : a donkey's characteristic cry
2. : a loud or discordant noise resembling a donkey's bray
the bray and roar of traffic
III. transitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English brayen, from Middle French broiier, from Old French, of Germanic origin; akin to Old High German brehhan to break — more at break
1.
a. : to pound, crush, or grind small and fine
bray seeds in a mortar
b. : to wear down as if by this process
sorrow … had brayed her — B.A.Williams
2. : to spread thin
bray printing ink
IV. noun
or brey “
( -s )
: a heraldic representation of a brake for braying flax — called also brake, hemp-brake
V.
variant of brae I