flask

See also: fläsk

English

A French stoneware pilgrim flask.

Three Erlenmeyer flasks.

Hip flask.

Etymology

From Middle English flask, flaske (“case, cask, keg”), from Old English flasce, flaxe (“bottle, flask”) and Medieval Latin flascō (“bottle”); from Frankish *flaskā; whence also Dutch fles; both from Proto-Germanic *flaskǭ (“braid-covered bottle, wicker-enclosed jug”) (whence also German Low German Flaske, Fless, German Flasche, Danish flaske), from Proto-Indo-European *ploḱ-skō (“flat”) (whence also Lithuanian plókščias, Czech ploský, Albanian flashkët), or from Proto-Indo-European *pleḱ- (“to weave”).

Sense 2 from Italian fiasco and sense 3 from Middle French flasque (“powder flask”), itself from Old Spanish flasco, frasco, both from Late Latin above.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) enPR: fläsk, IPA^(key): /ˈflɑːsk/
• (General American) enPR: flăsk, IPA^(key): /ˈflæsk/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -æsk

Noun

flask (plural flasks)

1. A narrow-necked vessel of metal or glass, used for various purposes; as of sheet metal, to carry gunpowder in; or of wrought iron, to contain quicksilver; or of glass, to heat water in, etc.
2. A container used to discreetly carry a small amount of a hard alcoholic beverage; a pocket flask.
3. (sciences) Laboratory glassware used to hold larger volumes than test tubes, normally having a narrow mouth of a standard size which widens to a flat or spherical base.
4. (engineering) A container for holding a casting mold, especially for sand casting molds.
5. A bed in a gun carriage.

   (The addition of quotations indicative of this usage is being sought:)

6. A nuclear flask, a large, secure lead-lined container for the transport of nuclear material.
   • 2023 December 27, Ben Jones, “Inside Sellafield... by rail”, in RAIL, number 999, page 21:

     Over the years, the railway has been the safest way to move hazardous chemicals, radioactive waste, fuel for Royal Navy nuclear submarines and imported fuel for reprocessing, as well as flasks containing fuel rods to and from British power stations.

7. (Newfoundland) A small bottle of liquor.

Derived terms

• Bologna flask
• Büchner flask
• Claisen flask
• conical flask
• Dewar flask
• Erlenmeyer flask
• flask wagon
• Florence flask
• hip-flask
• hip flask
• hipflask
• hip-pocket flask
• Kitasato flask
• Kitassato flask
• Kitazato flask
• Kjeldahl flask
• Kohlrausch flask
• moon-flask
• moon flask
• New Year's flask
• pocket-flask
• powder flask
• round-bottomed flask
• Schlenk flask
• snap flask
• vacuum flask
• volumetric flask

 

Descendants

• → Irish: fleasc
• → Welsh: fflasg

Translations

container for a small amount of beverage

• Arabic: دَوْرَق m (dawraq)
• Belarusian: пля́шка f (pljáška), пля́ха f (pljáxa)
• Bulgarian: пло́ска бути́лка f (plóska butílka), мане́рка f (manérka), ма́терка f (máterka) (dialectal)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 水壺／水壶 (zh) (shuǐhú) (for water), 長頸瓶／长颈瓶 (zh) (chángjǐngpíng)

• Coptic: ⲁⲙⲡⲟⲩⲗⲉ (ampoule)
• Czech: čutora (cs) f
• Danish: flaske (da) c, feltflaske c (for military porposes), termokande c (for carrying hot beverages),
• Esperanto: flakono, karafo
• Finnish: taskumatti (fi)
• French: flacon (fr) m, flasque (fr) f
• Georgian: მათარა (matara)
• German: Flasche (de) f
• Greek: φλασκί (el) n (flaskí), παγούρι (el) n (pagoúri)

  Ancient: λήκυθος f (lḗkuthos)

• Hungarian: flaska (hu), kulacs (hu), italosüveg, csutora (hu)
• Ido: flakono (io)
• Italian: fiaschetta (it) f, boccetta (it) f
• Japanese: 水筒 (ja) (すいとう, suitō) (for water), フラスコ (ja) (furasuko)
• Korean: 플라스크 (ko) (peullaseukeu)
• Latin: laguncula f
• Macedonian: матарка f (matarka), баклица f (baklica)
• Maori: takawai, waipāta (for gunpowder)
• Middle English: fiole
• Persian: فلاسک (fa) (flâsk)
• Plautdietsch: Buddel (nds) f
• Polish: manierka (pl) f
• Portuguese: frasco (pt) m
• Romanian: flacon (ro)
• Russian: фля́жка (ru) f (fljážka), фля́га (ru) f (fljága)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: пљоска f, плоска f

  Roman: pljoska (sh) f, ploska (sh) f

• Slovak: čutora f
• Spanish: petaca (es) f, licorera disfrazada f, frasquera
• Swahili: chupa (sw)
• Swedish: plunta (sv) c, flaska (sv) c
• Tagalog: redoma
• Ukrainian: пля́шка f (pljáška), фля́жка f (fljážka), фля́га f (fljáha)
• Walloon: flechtåd (wa) m

container to carry a small amount of alcoholic beverage; pocket flask

• Arabic: زَمْزَمِيَّة f (zamzamiyya), قَارُورَة (ar) f (qārūra)
• Czech: plochá láhev f, placatka (cs) f
• Danish: lommelærke c
• Esperanto: flakono, fiolo
• Finnish: taskumatti (fi)
• French: flasque (fr) f
• German: Flachmann (de) m, Taschenflasche f
• Hebrew: בקבוקון כיס שטוח, בקבוק אלכוהול אישי לכיס
• Polish: piersiówka (pl) f
• Romanian: flacon (ro) n, sticluță (ro) f
• Slovak: ploskačka f
• Spanish: petaca (es) f
• Swedish: fickflaska c, fickplunta (sv) c, fältflaska (sv) c

laboratory glassware

• Belarusian: ко́лба f (kólba), флако́н m (flakón)
• Bulgarian: ко́лба (bg) f (kólba)
• Catalan: matràs m
• Czech: baňka (cs) f
• Danish: kolbe c, kolbe c
• Esperanto: flakono
• Finnish: laboratoriopullo
• French: fiole (fr) f
• Georgian: კოლბა (ḳolba)
• German: Kolben (de) m, Flakon (de) m or n
• Greek: φλασκί (el) n (flaskí)
• Hungarian: lombik (hu)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: kolbe m

  Nynorsk: kolbe m

• Polish: kolba (pl) f
• Portuguese: frasco (pt) m
• Russian: ко́лба (ru) f (kólba), флако́н (ru) m (flakón)
• Slovak: baňka (sk) f
• Spanish: matraz m
• Swedish: kolv (sv) c
• Ukrainian: ко́лба (uk) f (kólba), флако́н m (flakón)

container for holding a (sand) casting mold

• German: Formkasten m

bed in a gun carriage

• Danish: krudthorn n

Verb

flask (third-person singular simple present flasks, present participle flasking, simple past and past participle flasked)

1. (dentistry) To invest a denture in a flask so as to produce a sectional mold.

Anagrams

• falks, flaks

Danish

Verb

flask

1. imperative of flaske

Dutch

Etymology

From French flasque (“flask”). Doublet with (native) fles (“bottle”), (through French) flacon (“flagon”) and (through Italian) fiasco (“fiasco”).

Noun

flask f (plural flasken, diminutive flaskje n)

1. flask

Middle English

Alternative forms

• flaske

Etymology

From Anglo-Norman flascon, from Frankish *flaskā, from Proto-Germanic *flaskǭ. Reinforced by existing Old English flasce, from the same source.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈflask(ə)/

Noun

flask (plural flaskes) (rare)

1. A small barrel for beer storage.
2. A container for the storage of garments.

Related terms

• flasket

Descendants

• English: flask
• Scots: flask, flas

References

• “flask, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-05-04.

Old Frisian

Alternative forms

• flēsk

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *flaiski. Cognates include Old English flǣsċ and Old Saxon flēsk.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈflaːsk/

Noun

flāsk n

1. flesh

Descendants

• North Frisian:

  Mooring: flååsch

• Saterland Frisian: Flaask
• West Frisian: fleis

References

• Bremmer, Rolf H. (2009) An Introduction to Old Frisian: History, Grammar, Reader, Glossary, Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company, →ISBN, page 28