deray

D2E1R1A1Y4
/dɪˈɹeɪ/

noun

Disorder, disturbance.

OriginOld French derroi ← Latin dis- →
RareScrabble 9
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Meanings

noun
  1. obsoleteDisorder, disturbance.
  2. impetuosity, prowess, vigour
  3. archaicDisarray, confusion.

    […] the exasperated Whigs […] were the men in fact that wrought the most deray among the populace.

    1824, James Hogg, The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner, Oxford, published 2010, page 26
  4. obsoleteDisorderly merriment; partying.

    […] there were pipes and fiddles, and as much dancing and deray within as used to be at Sir Robert’s house at Pace and Yule, and such high seasons […]

    1824, Sir Walter Scott, Redgauntlet
verbderay (third-person singular simple present derays, present participle deraying, simple past and past participle derayed)

present singular third person derays · participle present deraying · participle past derayed · past derayed

  1. archaictransitiveTo derange.
  2. archaicintransitiveTo become deranged; to go wild.

Origin

  1. Latindis-
  2. Old Frenchderroi
  3. Englishderay

From Old French derroi, desroi, desrei, from des- (from Latin dis-) + roi, rei, rai (“order”). See array and disarray.

More words from Old French, Latin

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

readydearydayerYarde
Cite this entry
APA

deray. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/deray

MLA

“deray.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/deray. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “deray,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/deray.

Source: deray on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.