flay

See also: Flay

English

Pronunciation

  • enPR: flā, IPA(key): /fleɪ/
  • (dialectal) enPR: flē, IPA(key): /fliː/[1]
  • (file)
  • Rhymes: -eɪ

Etymology 1

From Middle English flayen, flaien, fleien, from Old English *flīeġan ("to cause to fly, put to flight, frighten"; found only in compounds: āflīeġan), from Proto-Germanic *flaugijaną (to let fly, cause to fly), causative of Proto-Germanic *fleuganą (to fly).

Alternative forms

Verb

flay (third-person singular simple present flays, present participle flaying, simple past and past participle flayed)

  1. (transitive, UK dialectal, Northern England, Scotland) To cause to fly; put to flight; drive off (by frightening).
  2. (transitive, UK dialectal, Northern England, Scotland) To frighten; scare; terrify.
  3. (intransitive, UK dialectal, Northern England, Scotland) To be fear-stricken.
Derived terms

Noun

flay (plural flays)

  1. (UK dialectal, Northern England, Scotland) A fright; a scare.
  2. (UK dialectal, Northern England, Scotland) Fear; a source of fear; a formidable matter; a fearsome or repellent-looking individual.
Derived terms

Etymology 2

From Middle English flen, from Old English flēan, from Proto-West Germanic *flahan, from Proto-Germanic *flahaną.

Verb

flay (third-person singular simple present flays, present participle flaying, simple past flayed, past participle flayed or (obsolete) flain)

  1. To strip the skin off; to skin.
    • 1886, Peter Christen Asbjørnsen, translated by H.L. Brækstad, Folk and Fairy Tales, page 113:
      The farmer flayed him as he had the bear, and so he had both bear-skin and fox-skin.
  2. To lash or whip.
Synonyms
Derived terms
Translations

References

  1. Bingham, Caleb (1808) “Improprieties in Pronunciation, common among the people of New-England”, in The Child's Companion; Being a Conciſe Spelling-book [] , 12th edition, Boston: Manning & Loring, →OCLC, page 75.

Anagrams

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