flaw

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Archived revision by Yesyesandmaybe (talk | contribs) as of 10:53, 7 January 2020.
Jump to navigation Jump to search

English

Etymology 1

From (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Middle English flawe, flay (“a flake of fire or snow, spark, splinter”), probably from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Old Norse flaga (“a flag or slab of stone, flake”), from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Proto-Germanic *flagō (“a layer of soil”), from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Proto-Indo-European *plāk- (“broad, flat”). Cognate with Icelandic flaga (“flake”), Swedish flaga (“flake, scale”), Danish flage (“flake”), Middle Low German vlage (“a layer of soil”), Old English flōh (“a frament, piece”).

Pronunciation

  • Lua error in Module:parameters at line 360: Parameter 1 should be a valid language or etymology language code; the value "UK" is not valid. See WT:LOL and WT:LOL/E. IPA(key): /ˈflɔː/
  • Lua error in Module:parameters at line 360: Parameter 1 should be a valid language or etymology language code; the value "US" is not valid. See WT:LOL and WT:LOL/E. IPA(key): /ˈflɔ/
  • Lua error in Module:parameters at line 360: Parameter 1 should be a valid language or etymology language code; the value "cot-caught" is not valid. See WT:LOL and WT:LOL/E. IPA(key): /ˈflɑ/
  • Audio (US):(file)
  • Rhymes: -ɔː
  • Homophone: floor (in non-rhotic accents with the horse–hoarse merger)

Noun

flaw (plural flaws)

  1. (obsolete) A flake, fragment, or shiver.
  2. (obsolete) A thin cake, as of ice.
  3. A crack or breach, a gap or fissure; a defect of continuity or cohesion.
    There is a flaw in that knife.
    That vase has a flaw.
  4. A defect, fault, or imperfection, especially one that is hidden.
    • (Can we date this quote by South and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)
      Has not this also its flaws and its dark side?
    1. (in particular) An inclusion, stain, or other defect of a diamond or other gemstone.
  5. (law) A defect or error in a contract or other document which may make the document invalid or ineffective.
    a flaw in a will, in a deed, or in a statute
Synonyms
Derived terms
Translations

Verb

flaw (third-person singular simple present flaws, present participle flawing, simple past and past participle flawed)

  1. (transitive) To add a flaw to, to make imperfect or defective.
  2. (intransitive) To become imperfect or defective; to crack or break.
Translations

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

Noun

flaw (plural flaws)

  1. A sudden burst or gust of wind of short duration.
    • (Can we date this quote by John Milton and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)
      Snow, and hail, and stormy gust and flaw.
    • (Can we date this quote by Tennyson and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)
      Like flaws in summer laying lusty corn.
  2. A storm of short duration.
  3. A sudden burst of noise and disorder
    Synonyms: tumult, uproar, quarrel
    • (Can we date this quote by Dryden and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)
      And deluges of armies from the town / Came pouring in; I heard the mighty flaw.
Translations
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked

Anagrams

Sranan Tongo

Verb

flaw

  1. To faint.
Retrieved from "https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=flaw&oldid=58309348"