frayer

Forms

frayer^[1] Old French freier (about 1155), froier and fraier (13th century); frayer is a 14th-century reshaping.^[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French freier, inherited from Latin fricō (“to rub, polish, curry”).^[5][1][2][6] Rey notes that the Latin verb was used only in concrete senses and is perhaps expressive.^[2] Littré compares the change of the Latin verb to froier with that of ligō to loier and lier, and remarks that the regular modern form would have been ⟨frier⟩.^[7] P. Guiraud supposed an influence of Old French fraier (“to break into pieces”), which would account for the idea of fragments coming away found in several senses.^[2][4]

Cognate with Romanian freca, Italian fregare and Spanish fregar.^[8][7] The spawning sense is shared with Piedmontese and Engadine dialects.^[9]

Earliest recorded meaning

Its first record, in Philippe de Thaon's Bestiaire (1121–1134), is the sense of fish spawning;^[5][2] Wace has the general sense “to rub” about 1155.^[5]

Semantic evolution

The sense “to rub” went out of use except in special senses: in hunting, of a stag rubbing its antlers against trees (2nd half of the 13th century), in veterinary use, of chafing the skin (1606, Nicot), and of wearing down coins by rubbing (1757, the Encyclopédie).^[2][3][5] The spawning sense comes from the female fish rubbing its belly against the sand to release its eggs;^[9][2] about 1560 it was extended to the male fertilizing the eggs.^[2]

From the 14th century (Froissart, about 1360) frayer meant to tread out a path, the image being the rubbing of feet;^[2][3] from 1690 it also meant to open a way by pushing obstacles aside.^[2][3] Frayer le chemin “to smooth the way” was used figuratively from 1275–1280 (Jean de Meun).^[2][5] At the end of the 17th century Saint-Simon used frayer avec for keeping company with someone,^[5][2] a phrase that is now somewhat pejorative.^[2]

Timeline

• 1121–1134 – Philippe de Thaon's Bestiaire uses it of fish spawning.^[5]
• c. 1155 – Freier “to rub” appears in Wace's Brut.^[5]
• 2nd half of the 13th century – Used of a stag rubbing its antlers, in La Chace dou cerf.^[5][2]
• 1275–1280 – Jean de Meun uses it figuratively of opening a way.^[5][2]
• 1340 – The derivative frai is recorded as fri.^[2][9]
• c. 1360 – Froissart uses it for treading out a path.^[3][2]
• c. 1560 – Used of the male fish fertilizing the eggs.^[2]
• 1690 – Furetière records the sense of opening a way through obstacles.^[3][2]
• Late 17th century – Saint-Simon uses frayer avec.^[5]
• 1757 – The Encyclopédie records frayer coins.^[3][2]

Meanings

Verb

1. (hunting) Of a deer, to rub its antlers against trees.^[10][5]
2. (veterinary) To chafe, to inflame by rubbing.^[10]
3. To tread out a path by passing along it; to open a way by pushing obstacles aside: se frayer un chemin.^[10][11]
4. (figurative) Frayer la voie, frayer le chemin: to smooth the way for something or someone.^[7][10]
5. Of fish, to spawn; of the male, to fertilize the eggs.^[10][11]
6. (figurative) Frayer avec: to associate or keep company with someone.^[10][1]

Word family

• frai
• frayère
• frayement
• frayoir
• frayage

Related words

• friction
• Latin fricō

Usage notes

The Grand Robert lists as frayer 2 an intransitive verb meaning “to cause expense”, recorded as fraier or freier in 1260 and as frayer in 1359 and formed from Old French frait, fret “expense, costs”.^[4][5] The TLFi marks it as obsolete.^[5]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
3. ^ a b c d e f g Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
4. ^ a b c Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 3, 781b
7. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
8. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
9. ^ a b c Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
10. ^ a b c d e f Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
11. ^ a b Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)