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Bray vs Fray - What's the difference?

bray | fray |

As a proper noun bray

is .

As a noun fray is

affray; broil; contest; combat; brawl; melee.

As a verb fray is

to unravel; used particularly for the edge of something made of cloth, or the end of a rope.

bray

English

Etymology 1

From (etyl) braire, from ).

Verb

(en verb)
  • Of a donkey, to make its cry.
    • Whenever I walked by, that donkey brayed at me.
  • Of a camel, to make its cry.
  • To make a harsh, discordant sound like a donkey's bray.
    • He threw back his head and brayed with laughter.
  • To make or utter with a loud, discordant, or harsh and grating sound.
  • * Milton
    • Arms on armour clashing, brayed / Horrible discord.
  • * Sir Walter Scott
    • And varying notes the war pipes brayed .
  • * Gray
    • Heard ye the din of battle bray ?

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • The cry of an ass or donkey.
  • The cry of a camel
  • Any harsh, grating, or discordant sound.
  • * Jerrold
    • The bray and roar of multitudinous London.
    Synonyms
    * hee-haw

    Etymology 2

    From (etyl) breier (Modern French broyer).

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To crush or pound, especially with a mortar.
  • * Bible, Proverbs xxvii. 22
    • Though thou shouldest bray a fool in a mortar, yet will not his foolishness depart from him.
  • * 1624 , John Smith, Generall Historie , in Kupperman 1988, p. 141:
    • Their heads and shoulders are painted red with the roote Pocone brayed to powder, mixed with oyle [...].
  • (British, chiefly Yorkshire) By extension, to hit someone or something.
  • * 2011 , , Butchers Perfume'' from ''The Beautiful Indifference , Faber and Faber (2011), page 25:
    • If anything he brayed him all the harder - the old family bull recognising his fighting days were close to over.

    fray

    English

    Etymology 1

    From (etyl) frai, aphetic variant of affray.

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • Affray; broil; contest; combat; brawl; melee.
    • Though they did not know the reason for the dispute, they did not hesitate to leap into the fray .
  • * Shakespeare
    • Who began this bloody fray ?
  • * {{quote-news
    • , year=2010 , date=December 29 , author=Mark Vesty , title=Wigan 2 - 2 Arsenal , work=BBC citation , page= , passage=Wigan, unbeaten in five games at the DW Stadium, looked well in control but the catalyst for Arsenal's improvement finally came when Diaby left the field with a calf injury and Jack Wilshere came into the fray , bringing some much needed determination and urgency to lacklustre Arsenal. }}
  • (archaic) fright

    • Etymology 2

    From (etyl) fraien, from (etyl) frayer, from (etyl) .

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To unravel; used particularly for the edge of something made of cloth, or the end of a rope.
    • The ribbon frayed at the cut end.
  • (figuratively) To cause exhaustion, wear out (a person's mental strength).
    • The stressful day ended in frayed nerves. (Metaphorical use; nerves are visualised as strings)
  • (archaic) frighten; alarm
  • * 1662 , , Book II, A Collection of Several Philosophical Writings of Dr. Henry More, p. 63:
    • "Besides, all the wit and Philosophy in the world can never demonstrate, that the killing and slaughtering of a Beast is anymore then the striking of a Bush where a Bird's Nest is, where you fray away the Bird, and then seize upon the empty Nest."
  • * Spenser
    • What frays ye, that were wont to comfort me affrayed?
  • To bear the expense of; to defray.
  • * Massinger
    • The charge of my most curious and costly ingredients frayed , I shall acknowledge myself amply satisfied.
  • To rub.
  • * Sir Walter Scott
    • We can show the marks he made / When 'gainst the oak his antlers frayed .