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 14458^th 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