English
affray
Affray comes from Middle English affraien ‘to terrify, frighten’, from Latin ex ‘out of, from’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *preyH- ‘to please’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*preyH-‘to please’root as named
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁éǵʰreconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁éǵʰs‘out’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*eksreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEex‘out of, from’
- Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*exfridāre‘to frighten’reconstructed
- Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400afrayer‘to terrify, disquiet, disturb’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500affraien‘to terrify, frighten’
- Englishearliest quotation 1590affray
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*preyH-‘to please’root as named
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁éǵʰreconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁éǵʰs‘out’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*eksreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEex‘out of, from’
- Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*exfridāre‘to frighten’reconstructed
- Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400afrayer‘to terrify, disquiet, disturb’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500affraien‘to terrify, frighten’
- Englishearliest quotation 1590affray
Earliest quotation: 1590, Edmund Spenser, Book I, Canto III: “full of ghastly fright and cold affray”.
The story
The second part of this is in turn 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’).
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *preyH- ‘to please’
free, friend, property, improper, propriety, frith, 7 more
through Proto-Italic *eks
elevator, elevation, expulsion, elevate, 17 more
through Latin ex ‘out of, from’
exchange, ex, squash, extort, extenuating, excommunicate, enunciation, 11 more
through Anglo-Norman afrayer ‘to terrify, disquiet, disturb’
Today it means
verb To startle from quiet; to alarm.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *preyH- / affray