affray
English
editAlternative forms
editEtymology
editFrom Middle English affraien (“to terrify, frighten”), borrowed from Anglo-Norman afrayer (“to terrify, disquiet, disturb”) and Old French effreer, esfreer (“to disturb, remove the peace from”) (compare modern French effrayer), from Vulgar Latin *exfridāre or from es- (“ex-”) + freer (“to secure, secure the peace”), from Frankish *friþu (“security, peace”), from Proto-Germanic *friþuz (“peace”), from *frijōną (“to free; to love”), from Proto-Indo-European *prāy-, *prēy- (“to like, love”). Cognate with Old High German fridu (“peace”), Old English friþ (“peace, frith”), Old English frēod (“peace, friendship”), German Friede (“peace”). Compare also afear. More at free, friend.
Pronunciation
editVerb
editaffray (third-person singular simple present affrays, present participle affraying, simple past and past participle affrayed)
- (archaic, transitive) To startle from quiet; to alarm.
- (archaic, transitive) To frighten; to scare; to frighten away.
- c. 1591–1595 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Romeo and Ivliet”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene v]:
- That voice doth us affray.
Derived terms
editRelated terms
editNoun
editaffray (countable and uncountable, plural affrays)
- The act of suddenly disturbing anyone; an assault or attack.
- 2015, 8 November, "Rugby league journalist Gary Carter critically ill after Bethnal Green attack", BBC News [1]
- A 22-year-old man was also arrested in connection with the incident for affray towards attending paramedics.
- 2015, 8 November, "Rugby league journalist Gary Carter critically ill after Bethnal Green attack", BBC News [1]
- A tumultuous assault or quarrel.
- The fighting of two or more persons, in a public place, to the terror of others.
- The affray in the busy marketplace caused great terror and disorder.
- (obsolete) Terror.
- 1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book I, Canto III”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC:
- full of ghastly fright and cold affray
Synonyms
editRelated terms
editTranslations
edit- English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *preyH-
- English terms inherited from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms derived from Anglo-Norman
- English terms derived from Old French
- English terms derived from Vulgar Latin
- English terms derived from Frankish
- English terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- English 2-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- Rhymes:English/eɪ
- Rhymes:English/eɪ/2 syllables
- English lemmas
- English verbs
- English terms with archaic senses
- English transitive verbs
- English terms with quotations
- English nouns
- English uncountable nouns
- English countable nouns
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