affray

[uh-frey]

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noun

a public fight; a noisy quarrel; brawl.

Law. the fighting of two or more persons in a public place.

verb (used with object)

Archaic. to frighten.

Nearby words

Origin of affray

1275–1325; Middle English < Anglo-French afray (noun), afrayer (v.), Old French esfrei (noun), esfreer (v.) < Vulgar Latin *exfridāre to break the peace, equivalent to ex- ex-¹ + -frid- peace (< Germanic; compare German Friede) + -āre infinitive suffix

SYNONYMS FOR affray

1. row, fracas, altercation, melee.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR affray ON THESAURUS.COM

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for affray

The lackey meantime had prepared himself for the affray, and Girard had produced two dueling swords.
Cad Metti, The Female Detective Strategist|Harlan Page Halsey
In this affray eighteen sailors were stabbed, several dying from their wounds.
Famous Men and Great Events of the Nineteenth Century|Charles Morris
Does the falling night hide fiends to fight And phantoms to affray?
Songs from Vagabondia|Bliss Carman and Richard Hovey
The Major was thoroughly discouraged with the outcome of the affray, and disgusted with the conduct of his troops on the occasion.
The Indians' Last Fight|Dennis Collins

At Hamburg, an affray occurred between the populace and a party of Austrian troops, in which lives were lost.
Harper's New Monthly Magazine, Vol. 3, No. 15, August, 1851|Various

British Dictionary definitions for affray

affray

noun

law a fight, noisy quarrel, or disturbance between two or more persons in a public place

verb

(tr) archaic to frighten

Word Origin for affray

C14: via Old French from Vulgar Latin exfridāre (unattested) to break the peace; compare German Friede peace

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for affray

affray

c.1300, "state of alarm produced by a sudden disturbance," from Old French effrei, esfrei "disturbance, fright," from esfreer (v.) "to worry, concern, trouble, disturb," from Vulgar Latin *exfridare, literally "to take out of peace," from Latin ex- "out of" (see ex-) + Frankish *frithu "peace," from Proto-Germanic *frithuz "peace, consideration, forbearance" (cf. Old Saxon frithu, Old English friðu, Old High German fridu "peace, truce"), from PIE root *pri- "to be friendly, love" (see free (adj.)). Meaning "breach of the peace, riotous fight in public" is from late 15c. Related verb afrey (early 14c.) survives almost exclusively in its past participle, afraid (q.v.).