I. ˈfrā verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English fraien, short for afraien, affraien — more at affray
transitive verb
1. archaic : frighten , scare , terrify
2. archaic : to frighten away : dispel
intransitive verb
archaic : brawl , quarrel , fight
II. noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English, short for afray, affray — more at affray
1. now chiefly Scotland : apprehension , fright , terror
2.
a. : commotion , tumult
b. : quarrel , brawl
authority to quell all quarrels, frays, and disorders among persons subject to this code — U.S. Code
sometimes those cold ornery guys turned very dangerous in a fray … used knucks, even knives — T.W.Duncan
c. : skirmish , combat , fight
who began this bloody fray — Shakespeare
picked up a club and threw himself into the fray
d. : dispute , debate
the editor took a side opposite to the local faculty in the fray
known for his scientific-political frays as well as his chemistry — Newsweek
Synonyms: see contest
III. verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle French frayer, froyer to rub, from Latin fricare — more at brine
transitive verb
1.
a. : to rub against something
a deer frays his antlers to remove the velvet
b. : to wear (as an edge of cloth or an end of rope) or wear off by or as if by rubbing : fret
the friction frayed the edge of the polishing cloth
c. : to separate the strands or threads at the edge or end of (as a piece of fabric or rope) ; also : to divide an end or edge of so that the separate divisions fan out
2.
a. : to cause to lose much of an original strength, force, or essential quality
the boy's gratitude became rapidly frayed
his boyish charm got a bit frayed near the end — Crary Moore
b. : to strain and bring to an unhealthy, touchy, or inauspicious condition
his temper became a bit frayed
relations … already frayed as a result of disagreements — New York Times
excursions from the family circle have benefited his health and frayed nerves out of recognition — Rex Ingamells
intransitive verb
1. : to wear out or into shreds : come apart (as when the threads of a fabric loosen and ravel)
2. : to thin or separate into shreds, parts, or separate units, and spread or splay — used with out
in the dips of the road the mist frayed out over the slab and blunted the headlights — R.P.Warren
is our civilization widening and deepening, or is it fraying out — Douglas Stewart
white pelicans … rise, fraying out, peeling off, in a slow roar of aroused wings — Marjory S. Douglas
feathered lines that frayed out upon the skin — Elizabeth M. Roberts
IV. noun
( -s )
: a raveled place or worn spot (as on fabric)
V. ˈfrī noun
Etymology: Spanish, short for fraile, alteration of Old Spanish fraire, from Old Provençal, brother, monk, from Latin fratr-, frater brother — more at brother
: brother — a title of a clergyman of various religious orders in Spanish countries