frayst

v. (wk.)

Gaw pp. frayst and fraysted; Pe past frayste; WA pres. 3 sg. fraistis, fraystes, pp. fraist, fraysted

‘to ask (for), seek; make trial of, test, examine’ (Modern English )

Etymology

cp. OIcel freista ‘to try, test, tempt’ < PGmc *fraistō(j)an-; cp. Go fráistubni ‘temptation’, OHG freista ‘danger’, and (on a version of the same root without the -t) OE frāsian ‘to ask, question’, Go fráisan, OFris frēse, OS frēsōn, OHG freison ‘to test’. 

PGmc Ancestor

*fraistō(j)an- 

Proposed ON Etymon (OIcel representative)

freista ‘to try, test, tempt’ 
(ONP freista (vb.))

Other Scandinavian Reflexes

Far freista, froysta, Icel freista, Nor freista, Dan friste, Sw fresta

OE Cognate

cp. frāsian 'to ask, question'

Phonological and morphological markers

ON /ei/ &lt; PGmc */ai/

Summary category

A1ac

Attestation

Overwhelmingly N and E in ME. 

Occurrences in the Gersum Corpus

Gaw 279, 324, 391 etc.; Pe 169; Cl 1736; WA 2019, 3366. 

On the sense of Gaw 409 and 503, see notes PS ed; Cl 1736 is variously read as 'seek' and 'test' (see Anderson 1736n as opposed to Vantuono 1736n).  At WA 3366 MS A reads <festis> (retained by Skeat).

Bibliography

MED fraisten (v.) , OED fraist , HTOED , HTOED , HTOED , HTOED , Dance frayst, Bj. 42, de Vries freista, Mag. freista, Orel *fraisanan, Bj-L. friste, Kroonen *fraisan-, AEW frāsian