US /ˈfɔɹ.eɪ/ UK /ˈfɒɹ.eɪ/
noun Freq #44340

Meanings

  1. 1
    noun

    an initial attempt (especially outside your usual areas of competence)

    Scientists' forays into politics.

Thesaurus

Word family
Forms forays
Derived forms forayer

Etymology

From Middle English forrayen (“to pillage”), a back-formation of forrayour, forreour, forrier (“raider, pillager”), from Old French forrier, fourrier, a derivative of fuerre (“provender, fodder, straw”), from Frankish *fōdar (“fodder, sheath”), from Proto-Germanic *fōdrą (“fodder, feed, sheath”), from Proto-Indo-European *patrom (“fodder”), *pat- (“to feed”), *pāy- (“to guard, graze, feed”). Cognate with Old High German fuotar (German Futter (“fodder, feed”)), Old English fōdor, fōþer (“food, fodder, covering, case, basket”), Dutch voeder (“forage, food, feed”), Danish foder (“fodder, feed”),...

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