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• moray
  moray

  noun

  any of numerous chiefly tropical eels of the family Muraenidae, having porelike gill openings and no pectoral fins.
• Moray
  Moray

  noun

  a historic county in NE Scotland, on Moray Firth.

moray

¹ American  

[mawr-ey, mohr-ey, maw-rey, moh-] / ˈmɔr eɪ, ˈmoʊr eɪ, mɔˈreɪ, moʊ- /

noun

morays plural

1. any of numerous chiefly tropical eels of the family Muraenidae, having porelike gill openings and no pectoral fins.

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Moray ² American  

[mur-ee] / ˈmɜr i /

noun

1. a historic county in NE Scotland, on Moray Firth.

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Moray ¹ British  

/ ˈmʌrɪ /

noun

1. Former name: Elgin.  a council area and historical county of NE Scotland: part of Grampian region from 1975 to 1996: mainly hilly, with the Cairngorm mountains in the S. Administrative centre: Elgin. Pop: 87 460 (2003 est). Area: 2238 sq km (874 sq miles)

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Moray ² British  

/ ˈmʌrɪ /

noun

1. 1st Earl of, title of James Stuart. ?1531–70, regent of Scotland (1567–70) following the abdication of Mary, Queen of Scots, his half-sister. He defeated Mary and Bothwell at Langside (1568); assassinated by a follower of Mary

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moray ³ British  

/ mɒˈreɪ /

noun

1. any voracious marine coastal eel of the family Muraenidae, esp Muraena helena, marked with brilliant patterns and colours

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Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

noun

• morays
  plural

Etymology

Origin of moray

1615–25, < Portuguese moréia < Latin mūraena < Greek mȳ́raina lamprey

Example Sentences

To cope with the funding shortfalls, every local authority in Scotland has increased council tax - ranging from 4% in Edinburgh to 10% in Aberdeenshire and Moray.

From BBC • Jun. 11, 2026

A pollution incident in Moray has killed a significant number of fish and other wildlife including eels and birds.

From BBC • May 3, 2026

Holland and Matt Damon were also spotted in Burghead in Moray from where they were taken by boat to nearby Culbin Sands for scenes.

From BBC • May 1, 2026

Last year's filming of Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey brought stars to the Highlands, and neighbouring Moray.

From BBC • May 1, 2026

The Queen remained there five days, and now journeys homewards as far as Spynie, a house of the Bishop of Moray....

From Mary Queen of Scots 1542-1587 by Various