Etymograph

English

array

Array comes from Anglo-Norman arraier.

  1. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400arraier1
  2. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500arrayen1
  3. Englishearliest quotation 1590array1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English array
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1590, Edmund Spenser, Book II, Canto IX: “In a long purple pall, whose ſkirt with gold,…”.

Lineage

  1. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400arraierWiktionary, English array
  2. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500arrayenWiktionary, English array
  3. Englishearliest quotation 1590arrayWiktionary, English array. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1590, Edmund Spenser, Book II, Canto IX: “In a long purple pall, whose ſkirt with gold,…”

Every English word from Anglo-Norman arraier

Today it means

noun Clothing and ornamentation; raiment.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “array”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Anglo-Norman arraier / array

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