braybray

The story

The verb is derived from Middle English brayen, brai, bray, braye (‘of a person or animal: to vocalize loudly; of the weather: to make a loud sound, howl, roar’), from Old French brai, braire (‘of an animal: to bray; of a person: to cry or shout out’) (modern French braire (‘of an animal: to bray; of a person: to shout; to cry, weep’)), possibly from Vulgar Latin *bragiō, from Gaulish *bragu (compare Breton breugiñ (‘to bray’), brammañ (‘to flatulate’), Cornish bramma, brabma (‘to flatulate’), Old Irish braigid (‘to flatulate’)), from Proto-Celtic *brageti, *bragyeti (‘to flatulate’), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰreHg- (‘to flatulate; to stink’); cognate with Latin fragrō (‘to smell’). Alternatively, the word could be from a Germanic source, ultimately from Proto-Germanic *brekaną (‘to break’), and cognate with frangere (‘to break, shatter’).1disputed Scholars disagree here; the competing view is quoted as the source gives it.