English
fray
Fray comes from Middle English fraien ‘to beat so as to cause bruising, to bruise’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *bʰreyH- ‘to cut’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰreyH-‘to cut’root as named · steps between not traced
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400fraier
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500fraien‘to beat so as to cause bruising, to bruise’
- Englishearliest quotation 1538fray
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰreyH-‘to cut’root as named · steps between not traced
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400fraier
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500fraien‘to beat so as to cause bruising, to bruise’
- Englishearliest quotation 1538fray
Earliest quotation: 1538, Erasmus Sarcerius, Of the Lawe of God: “S. Paul alſo defineth the law to be the…”
The story
The verb is derived from Late Middle English fraien (‘to beat so as to cause bruising, to bruise; to crush; to rub; to wear, wear off’), borrowed from Old French fraier, freier, freiier (modern French frayer (‘to clear, open up (a path, etc.); (figuratively) to find one’s way through (something); (obsolete) to rub’)), from Latin fricāre, the present active infinitive of fricō (‘to chafe; to rub’), an intensive form of friō (‘to break into pieces, crumble; to rub’), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰreyH- (‘to cut’). Sense 1.2 (‘to force or make (a path, way, etc.) through’) is derived from modern French frayer: see above.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *bʰreyH- ‘to cut’
friction, frivolous, briny, frivolity, fricative, friable, 5 more
Today it means
verb To rub or wear away (something); to cause (something made of strands twisted or woven together, such as cloth or rope) to unravel through friction; also, to irritate (something) through chafing or rubbing; to chafe.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *bʰreyH- / fray