flèche

See also: fleche, fleché, fléché, and Flèche

English

Etymology

Borrowed from French flèche.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /flɛʃ/, /fleɪʃ/

Noun

flèche (plural flèches)

1. (obsolete) An arrow.
2. (backgammon) Any of the twenty-four points on a backgammon board.
3. (architecture) A spire or steeple, especially of Gothic style; an object emerging from the ridge of a roof.
4. (military, fortification) An earthwork consisting of two berms forming an angle with an open gorge.
5. (fencing) A method of attack with a sword (foil or épée) in which the attacker's back leg crosses in front of the front leg in the offensive move.

Related terms

• flechette, fléchette

Verb

1. (fencing) To attack using the flèche method.

Anagrams

• fleech

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French

Etymology

From Old French fleche, from Frankish *fliukkija. Compare Portuguese and Spanish flecha, Italian freccia, Catalan fletxa, Galician frecha.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /flɛʃ/

• audio:

  (file)

Noun

flèche f (plural flèches)

1. (archery, symbol) arrow (projectile or symbol)
2. spire
3. jib
4. pointer, needle
5. (fencing) fleche
6. (informal, figuratively) bright spark, quick study

   Synonym: tête

Descendants

• → Dutch: flits
  • → Middle Low German: flitse [16th c.]
    • → German: Flitz
• → English: flèche

Verb

flèche

1. first-person singular present indicative of flécher
2. third-person singular present indicative of flécher
3. first-person singular present subjunctive of flécher
4. third-person singular present subjunctive of flécher
5. second-person singular imperative of flécher

See also

• arc

Further reading

• “flèche”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.