affray

From Middle English afraien (“to terrify, frighten”), borrowed from Anglo-Norman afrayer (“to terrify, disquiet, disturb”), from Old French effreer, esfreer (“to disturb, remove the peace from”) (compare modern French effrayer), from Vulgar Latin *exfridāre or from es- (“ex-”) + freer (“to secure, secure the peace”), 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”). Cognate with Old High German fridu (“peace”), Old English friþ (“peace, frith”), Old English frēod (“peace, friendship”), German Friede (“peace”). Compare also afear. More at free, friend.

• IPA^(key): /əˈfɹeɪ/
• Rhymes: -eɪ

affray (countable and uncountable, plural affrays)

1. The act of suddenly disturbing anyone; an assault or attack.
   • BBC News

     A 22-year-old man was also arrested in connection with the incident for affray towards attending paramedics.

2. A tumultuous assault or quarrel.
3. The fighting of two or more persons, in a public place, to the terror of others.

   The affray in the busy marketplace caused great terror and disorder.

4. (obsolete) Terror.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Edmund Spenser to this entry?)

• fray, brawl.
• alarm, terror, fright.

• afraid
• fray

affray (third-person singular simple present affrays, present participle affraying, simple past and past participle affrayed)

1. (archaic, transitive) To startle from quiet; to alarm.
   • Chaucer

     Smale foules a great heap / That had afrayed [affrayed] me out of my sleep.

2. (archaic, transitive) To frighten; to scare; to frighten away.
   • Shakespeare

     That voice doth us affray.