Tray
late Old English trīg, from the Germanic base of tree; the primary sense may have been ‘wooden container’.
wiktionary
From Middle English treye, from Old English trēġ, trīġ(“wooden board, tray”), from Proto-Germanic *trawją(“wooden vessel”), from Proto-Indo-European *drewo-, *dóru(“tree; wood”). Cognate with Old Norse treyja(“carrier”), Old Swedish trø(“wooden grain measure”), Low German Treechel(“dough trough”), Ancient Greek δρουίτη(drouítē, “tub, vat”), Sanskrit द्रोण(droṇa, “trough”). Related to trough and tree.
From Middle English traye, treie, from Old English trega(“misfortune, misery, trouble, grief, pain”), from Proto-Germanic *tregô(“mourning”), from Proto-Indo-European *dregʰ-(“unwilling, sullen, slack”). Cognate with Icelandic tregi(“sorrow, grief”), Gothic 𐍄𐍂𐌹𐌲𐍉( trigō, “grief”).
From Middle English trayen, treien, from Old English tregian(“to trouble, harass, vex”), from Proto-Germanic *tregōną(“to become tedious, become lazy, sadden”), from Proto-Indo-European *dregʰ-(“unwilling, sullen, slack”).
From Middle English trayen, from Old French trair(“to betray”), from Latin tradō(“hand over, betray”). More at betray. Doublet of trade.
tray (plural trays)
Blend of trans + gay
etymonline
tray (n.)
Old English treg, trig "flat wooden board with a low rim," from Proto-Germanic *traujam (source also of Old Swedish tro, a corn measure), from PIE *drou-, variant of root *deru- "be firm, solid, steadfast," with specialized senses "wood, tree" and derivatives referring to objects made of wood. The primary sense may have been "wooden vessel."
