Obs. Forms: 5–6 escrye, 7 escrie. [a. OF. escrie-r, f. es:—L. ex out + crier to CRY. The earlier Eng. form from 13th c. was ASCRY, prob. representing an AF. ascrier; and there was an aphetic SCRY, q.v.]
1. intr. To cry out, exclaim.
1483. Caxton, Gold. Leg., 84/1. Thenne one of them escryed and said [etc.].
a. 1533. Ld. Berners, Huon, lv. 185. He escryed a hye & sayd ‘Syr Kynge,’ [etc.].
2. trans. To call out to, hail; also, to call upon, invoke.
1483. Caxton, Gold. Leg., 121/2. Put out thy voys and escrye hym frely. Ibid. (1485), Chs. Gr., 77. He … began to escrye the holy trynyte.
c. 1530. Ld. Berners, Arth. Lyt. Bryt. (1814), 112. He spurred horse and escryed the senesshall.
b. To escry him, them, etc., to or unto death, used to translate Fr. lui, leur escrier ‘à mort!’ or ‘à la mort!’
1475. Caxton, Jason, 8 b. And syn they escried alle the dronken centauris unto the dethe.
1523. Ld. Berners, Froiss., I. ccclxxxvi. 659. They were enclosed with the gauntoyse, who escryed them to dethe.
3. trans. = DESCRY: to cry out upon on discovering; hence to espy, discover. Also, with out.
1581. J. Bell, Haddon’s Answ. Osor., 100. Uouchsafe therfore a good felowshyp (Osorius) to escry out one safe Hauen for vs.
1581. J. Studley, trans. Seneca’s Medea, III. Cho. 127 b. Some travelers shall the Countreys farre escrye Beyond small Thule, Knowen furthest at this day.
1598. Hakluyt, Voy., I. 596 (R.). At the same time the Spanish fleet was escried by an English Pinasse.
1625. Purchas, Pilgrims, II. 775. From hence likewise you may plainely escrie the promontory of Azaphi.
