"payment, act or fact of defraying," 1820; see defray + -al (2). An earlier verb was defrayment (1540s), from French défrayement (Old French deffraiment).
Entries linking to defrayal
defray v.
1540s, "make compensation for, spend, pay for" (a sense now archaic); 1570s, "satisfy by payment," from Old French defraier,defrayer (15c.), perhaps from de- "out" (see de-) + fraier "spend," from frais "costs, damages caused by breakage," from Latin fractum, neuter past participle of frangere "to break" (from PIE root *bhreg- "to break").
Alternative etymology traces second element to Old High German fridu "peace," via Vulgar Latin *fredum "fine, cost." Compare affray. For possible sense development, compare pay from pax "peace."
-al 2
suffix forming nouns of action from verbs, mostly from Latin and French, meaning "act of ______ing" (such as survival, referral), Middle English -aille, from French feminine singular -aille, from Latin -alia, neuter plural of adjective suffix -alis, also used in English as a noun suffix. Nativized in English and used with Germanic verbs (as in bestowal, betrothal).