mid-14c., "feeling of alarm," shortening of affray (q.v.; see also afraid). Meaning "a brawl, a fight" is from early 15c. (late 14c. in Anglo-Latin). Fraymaker "fighter, brawler" is found in a 1530s statute recorded by Prynne ("Soveraigne Power of Parliaments and Kingdomes," 1643). Nares' "Glossary" has frayment (1540s).
fray (v.)
"wear off by rubbing," c. 1400, from Old French fraiier, froiier "to rub against, scrape; thrust against" (also in reference to copulation), from Latin fricare "to rub, rub down" (see friction). Intransitive sense "to ravel out" (of fabric, etc.) is from 1721. The noun meaning "a frayed place in a garment" is from 1620s. Related: Frayed; fraying.
实用例句
1. This kind of living was beginning to fray her nerves.
这种生活开始让她神经紧张。
来自柯林斯例句
2. Tempers began to fray as the two teams failed to score.
随着两队都没能破门得分，大家渐渐沉不住气了。
来自柯林斯例句
3. He would be inspiring young people to get into the political fray.
他会激励年轻人投身政治战斗。
来自柯林斯例句
4. The stitching had begun to fray at the edges.
边沿上的针脚已经开始磨损了。
来自柯林斯例句
5. Her washing machine tends to fray edges on intricate designs.
