Fray Means to Unravel, and Also a Brawl
To fray is to wear a fabric edge into loose threads. A separate fray is a fight.
To fray is to wear a fabric edge into loose threads; a fray is also a brawl or contest. The two are separate. The unravelling comes from French *frayer*, to rub, from Latin *fricare*. The fight is a shortening of *affray*, meaning a public disturbance, which comes from a word meaning to frighten — the same root as *afraid*. So *enter the fray* and *frayed cuffs* have nothing in common but their spelling.
- To unravel. *Frayed sleeves.*
- To wear thin. *Tempers frayed.*
- A brawl. *Enter the fray.*
- Affray — the longer word. *An affray.*
- Latin — *fricare*, to rub. *The first sense.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Verb | fray | Fraying. |
| Past | frayed | Frayed. |
| Noun | fray | The fray. |
| Related | affray | An affray. |
| Related | afraid | Afraid. |
- The rope had frayed badly.Wear.
- Tempers frayed by evening.Figurative.
- He entered the fray.Fight.
The frightening family
- Affray — a public fight causing fear
- Fray — the shortened form
- Afraid — originally the past participle of affray
- Fright — a separate Old English word
- Afraid is now one of the few English adjectives that cannot precede a noun
The unravelling is French *frayer*, from Latin *fricare*, to rub. The fight is short for *affray*.
Are the two frays related?
No. Unravelling comes from a Latin verb meaning to rub. The brawl is short for affray, from a word meaning to frighten.
Is afraid related to fray?
To the fight sense, yes. Afraid began as the past participle of affray.