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verb

affray

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Affray (verb) means (archaic) To startle someone out of calm; to alarm them.

verb
1
(archaic) To startle someone out of calm; to alarm them.
2
(archaic) To frighten someone, or scare them off.
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Etymology

From Middle English affraien (“to terrify, frighten”), borrowed from Anglo-Norman afrayer (“to terrify, disquiet, disturb”) and Old French effreer, esfreer (“to disturb, remove the peace from”) (compare modern French effrayer), from Vulgar Latin *exfridāre. The second part of this is in turn 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”). More at free, friend.

Rhymes for affray

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Frequently asked questions

What is the meaning of affray?
"affray" (verb) means (archaic) To startle someone out of calm; to alarm them.
What are the different meanings of affray?
"affray" has 2 main meanings: 1. (archaic) To startle someone out of calm; to alarm them; 2. (archaic) To frighten someone, or scare them off.
Definitions from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · etymology from Wiktionary