| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000. |
| |
| fray2 |
| |
| PRONUNCIATION: |  fr |
| VERB: | Inflected forms: frayed, fray·ing, frays
| | TRANSITIVE VERB: | 1. To strain; chafe: repeated noises that fray the nerves. 2. To wear away (the edges of fabric, for example) by rubbing. | | INTRANSITIVE VERB: | To become worn away or tattered along the edges. | | NOUN: | A frayed or threadbare spot, as on fabric. | | ETYMOLOGY: | Middle English fraien, to wear, bruise, from Old French fraier, to rub, from Latin fricre.
| | |
| |
| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
|
|
