An archaic word meaning to soil, stain, or bedraggle something, especially with mud or dirt.
From Old English 'be-' prefix plus 'ray' (to stain or soil). Possibly connected to Old Norse 'reya' meaning rub or soil. Common in Middle English texts but nearly obsolete by 1700.
Medieval texts use 'beray' to describe soldiers returning from muddy battlefields—it's one of many lost English words for 'getting dirty' that shows how much our vocabulary for describing messes has changed since we have washing machines!
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.