bray

CEFRC2

/bɹeɪ/

noun · verb

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    noun

    The loud cry of a donkey.

  2. 02

    noun

    Extra detail

    To make a harsh, discordant sound like a donkey's bray.

Examples

  • A donkey in a lion's skin exposes itself with its bray.

  • I cannot bray like a donkey. I'm a horse.

At a glance

Sits at C2 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
2
Citations
5
Synonyms
1

Deep Dive

noun

Extra meanings

  1. To make or utter (a shout, sound, etc.) discordantly, loudly, or in a harsh and grating manner.

  2. The cry of an animal, now chiefly that of animals related to the ass or donkey, or the camel.

verb

Extra meaning

  1. Of an animal (now chiefly of animals related to the ass or donkey, and the camel): to make its cry.

More examples

In context

  • He threw back his head and brayed with laughter.

  • Whenever I walked by, that donkey brayed at me.

  • At full volume, Doreen's whinnying laugh could shatter glass. Even at half volume, her high-pitched brays rattled teeth.

Synonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

The donkey began to blank loudly, startling everyone nearby.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

noun

The verb is derived from Middle English brayen, brai, bray, braye (“of a person or animal: to vocalize loudly; of the weather: to make a loud sound, howl, roar”), from Old French brai, braire (“of an animal: to bray; of a person: to cry or shout out”) (modern French braire (“of an animal: to bray; of a person: to shout; to cry, weep”)), possibly from Vulgar Latin *bragiō, from Gaulish *bragu (compare Breton breugiñ (“to bray”), brammañ (“to flatulate”), Cornish bramma, brabma (“to flatulate”), Old Irish braigid (“to flatulate”)), from Proto-Celtic *brageti, *bragyeti (“to flatulate”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰreHg- (“to flatulate; to stink”); cognate with Latin fragrō (“to smell”). Alter...