Fraist

verb

verb ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Verb
  1. 1
    To try; test; prove; put to the proof; make trial (of). UK, ambitransitive, dialectal, obsolete

    "Þen found he no frekes to fraist on his strenght."

  2. 2
    To learn by trial; experience. UK, dialectal, obsolete, transitive
  3. 3
    To seek to learn; ask; inquire. obsolete, transitive
  4. 4
    To seek; be eager for; desire. obsolete, transitive
  5. 5
    To go forth on an expedition; sally forth. intransitive, obsolete

Example

More examples

"Þen found he no frekes to fraist on his strenght."

Etymology

From Middle English fraisten, freisten, frasten, from Old Norse freista (“to try, tempt, make trial of”), from Proto-Germanic *fraistōną (“to try”), from Proto-Indo-European *per- (“to try, risk”). Cognate with Icelandic freista (“to tempt”), Swedish fresta (“to try, tempt, tantalise”), Danish friste (“to try, tempt”), Old English frāsian (“to ask, inquire, tempt, try”). More at fraise.

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.