Ar*ray" (&?;), n. [OE. arai,
arrai, OF. arrai, arrei, arroi, order,
arrangement, dress, F. arroi; a (L. ad) + OF.
rai, rei, roi, order, arrangement, fr. G. or Scand.;
cf. Goth. raidjan, garaidjan, to arrange, MHG.
gereiten, Icel. reiði rigging, harness; akin to E.
ready. Cf. Ready, Greith, Curry.]
1. Order; a regular and imposing arrangement;
disposition in regular lines; hence, order of battle; as, drawn up in
battle array.
Wedged together in the closest array.
Gibbon.
2. The whole body of persons thus placed in order;
an orderly collection; hence, a body of soldiers.
A gallant array of nobles and cavaliers.
Prescott.
3. An imposing series of things.
Their long array of sapphire and of gold.
Byron.
4. Dress; garments disposed in order upon the
person; rich or beautiful apparel. Dryden.
5. (Law) (a) A ranking or
setting forth in order, by the proper officer, of a jury as impaneled in a
cause. (b) The panel itself.
(c) The whole body of jurors summoned to attend the
court.
To challenge the array (Law), to except to
the whole panel. Cowell. Tomlins. Blount. --
Commission of array (Eng. Hist.), a commission
given by the prince to officers in every county, to muster and array
the inhabitants, or see them in a condition for war.
Blackstone.
Ar*ray", v. t. [imp. & p.
p. Arrayed (&?;); p. pr. & vb. n.
Arraying.] [OE. araien, arraien, fr. OE.
arraier, arreier, arreer, arroier, fr.
arrai. See Array, n.] 1.
To place or dispose in order, as troops for battle; to
marshal.
By torch and trumpet fast arrayed,
Each horseman drew his battle blade.
Campbell.
These doubts will be arrayed before their minds.
Farrar.
2. To deck or dress; to adorn with dress; to cloth
to envelop; -- applied esp. to dress of a splendid kind.
Pharaoh . . . arrayed him in vestures of fine
linen.
Gen. xli.&?;.
In gelid caves with horrid gloom arrayed.
Trumbull.
3. (Law) To set in order, as a jury, for the
trial of a cause; that is, to call them man by man.
Blackstone.
To array a panel, to set forth in order the men
that are impaneled. Cowell. Tomlins.
Syn. -- To draw up; arrange; dispose; set in order.
