FRAY

affray, disturbance, fray, ruffle

(noun) a noisy fight

rub, fray, fret, chafe, scratch

(verb) cause friction; “my sweater scratches”

fray, frazzle

(verb) wear away by rubbing; “The friction frayed the sleeve”

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology 1

Verb

fray (third-person singular simple present frays, present participle fraying, simple past and past participle frayed)

(ambitransitive) To (cause to) unravel; used particularly for the edge of something made of cloth, or the end of a rope.

(intransitive, figuratively) To cause exhaustion, wear out (a person's mental strength).

(transitive, archaic) frighten; alarm

(transitive) To bear the expense of; to defray.

(intransitive) To rub.

Etymology 2

Noun

fray (plural frays)

A fight or argument

(archaic) Fright.

Proper noun

Fray (plural Frays)

A surname.

Statistics

• According to the 2010 United States Census, Fray is the 14458th most common surname in the United States, belonging to 2066 individuals. Fray is most common among White (61.62%) and Black/African American (29.91%) individuals.

Source: Wiktionary


Fray, n. Etym: [Abbreviated from affray.]

Definition: Affray; broil; contest; combat. Who began this bloody fray Shak.

Fray, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Frayed; p. pr. & vb. n. Fraying.] Etym: [See 1st Fray, and cf. Affray.]

Definition: To frighten; to terrify; to alarm. I. Taylor. What frays ye, that were wont to comfort me affrayed Spenser.

Fray, v. t. Etym: [Cf. OF. fraier. See Defray, v. t.]

Definition: 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, v. t. Etym: [OF. freier, fraier, froier, to rub. L. fricare; cf. friare to crumble, E. friable; perh. akin to Gr. gh to rub, scratch. Cf. Friction.]

Definition: 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, 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, n.

Definition: A fret or chafe, as in cloth; a place injured by rubbing.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



RESET




Word of the Day

2 May 2025

MINESHAFT

(noun) excavation consisting of a vertical or sloping passageway for finding or mining ore or for ventilating a mine


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Coffee Trivia

Contrary to popular belief, coffee beans are not technically beans. They are referred to as such because of their resemblance to legumes. A coffee bean is a seed of the Coffea plant and the source for coffee. It is the pit inside the red or purple fruit, often referred to as a cherry. Just like ordinary cherries, the coffee fruit is also a so-called stone fruit.

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