Obs. Forms: 4 asscrie, aschrie, aschriȝe, 4–5 ascrie, ascrye, 4–6 ascry, 5 askerye, askrye, 6 asskrie, askry. Aphet. 5 SCRY, q.v. [a. OF. escrie-r (mod. écrier), f. es:—L. ex out + crier to CRY. The Anglo-Fr. was prob. ascrier (see AS- pref.2), as ESCRY does not appear in Eng. before the time of Caxton, who introduced it from continental French. Aphetized in 15th c. to SCRY.]
1. trans. To call forth or out; to call upon.
c. 1325. E. E. Allit. P., C. 195. Þenne ascryed þay hym skete, & asked ful loude, What þe deuel hatȝ þou don?
c. 1350. Will. Palerne, 3827. Wiȝtli he hem a-schriȝed, And cumfort hem craftli with his kinde speche.
c. 1450. Lonelich, Grail, xlix. 225. Thanne Iosephe gan hem ascrien anon, Ha! ȝe cursed peple everychon!
b. esp. To attack with outcry, call to fight, provoke, challenge.
c. 1330. R. Brunne, Chron., 217. Edward was hardie, þe Londres gan he ascrie.
c. 1350. Will. Palerne, 3895. And stoutli him aschried, Bad him ȝepli him ȝeld or ȝerne he schul deie.
1480. Caxton, Chron. of Eng., ccxxiv. 227. The Englyssh mynstrelles blewe her … pypes and hydously ascryed the scottes.
1523. Ld. Berners, Froiss., I. lvii. 78. Assone as the Almayns sawe them, they ascryed them, and ran in fiersly among them.
2. intr. To cry out, shout, exclaim.
1352. Minot, Poems (1795), iii. 14. He herd ascry, That king Edward was nere tharby.
1393. Gower, Conf., III. 59. They ascriden also blive.
a. 1528. Skelton, Ph. Sparowe, 903. Openly to askry, And to make an outcri Against odyous Enui.
3. trans. = DESCRY: to cry out upon on discovering; hence to espy, discover; to proclaim, denounce, publish, inform upon.
c. 1400. Ywaine & Gaw., 3406. Thar he held him prevely, So that none sold him ascry.
1523. Ld. Berners, Froiss., I. cxcv. 232. The watchmen sayd, by likelyhode ther be some theuys … commyng to steale this towne; let vs ascry them, and wake the men of the cytie.
1530. Palsgr., 437/2. I askry, as foreriders of an armye do their enemyes whan they make reporte where they have sene them, Je descouures.
1548. Hall, Chron., 531. When the French men perceived that thei were asskried thei sodeinly returned.
1559. Myrr. Mag., Clifford, i. 4. I thinke it best that men their crimes ascried.
