flax

See also: Flax

English

A field of flax (Linum usitatissimum)

Wikispecies

Etymology

From Old English fleax, from Proto-Germanic *flahsą, from Proto-Indo-European *pleḱ- (“to plait”). Cognate with Old Frisian flax, Old Saxon *flahs (Dutch vlas), Old High German flahs (German Flachs); the Northern Germanic (and most likely the Gothic too) stem is different.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /flæks/
• Rhymes: -æks

Noun

flax (plural flaxes)

1. A plant of the genus Linum, especially Linum usitatissimum, which has a single, slender stalk, about a foot and a half high, with blue flowers. Also known as linseed, especially when referring to the seeds.
2. The fibers of Linum usitatissimum, grown to make linen and related textiles.
3. The flax bush, a plant of the genus Phormium, native to New Zealand, with strap-like leaves up to 3 metres long that grow in clumps.

Usage notes

The plural flaxes is used to indicate multiple species or varieties of flax; otherwise, flax is uncountable.

Derived terms

• flaxen
• New Zealand flax

Translations

plant

• Albanian: li (sq) m
• Arabic: كَتَّان‏‎ m (kattān)
• Armenian: վուշ (hy) (vuš)
• Aromanian: ljin
• Basque: liho
• Belarusian: лён m (ljón)
• Bulgarian: лен m (len)
• Catalan: lli (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 亞麻 (zh), 亚麻 (zh) (yàmá)

• Czech: len (cs) m
• Danish: hør (da) c
• Dutch: vlas (nl) n
• Erzya: сюс (sjus)
• Esperanto: lino (eo)
• Estonian: lina
• Faroese: lín n, hørur m
• Finnish: pellava (fi)
• French: lin (fr) m
• Friulian: lin m
• Georgian: სელი (seli)
• German: Flachs (de) m, Lein (de) m
• Greek: λινάρι (el) n (linári)
• Hebrew: פשתן‏‎ (he), פשתה‏‎
• Hungarian: len (hu)
• Italian: lino (it) m
• Japanese: 亜麻 (ja) (あま, ama)
• Khmer: ការច្នៃ (kaacnay)
• Korean: 아마 (ko) (ama) (亞麻 (ko))
• Latgalian: lyns m
• Latin: līnum n

• Latvian: lins m
• Lithuanian: linas (lt) m
• Low German: Flass (nds) m
• Macedonian: лен m (len)
• Malay: flaks
• Mongolian: please add this translation if you can
• Norman: lîn m
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: lin n

  Nynorsk: lin n

• Occitan: lin m
• Old English: fleax
• Persian: کتان‏‎ (fa) (katân), وش‏‎ (fa) (vaš)
• Polish: len (pl) m
• Portuguese: linho (pt) m
• Romanian: in (ro) m
• Russian: лён (ru) m (ljon)
• Sardinian: linu m
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: ла̏н m

  Roman: lȁn (sh) m

• Sorbian:

  Lower Sorbian: lan m

• Southern Altai: кӱдели (küdeli)
• Spanish: lino (es) m
• Swabian: Lãẽ
• Swedish: lin (sv) n
• Thai: please add this translation if you can
• Turkish: keten (tr)
• Vietnamese: please add this translation if you can
• Volapük: linum (vo)

the fibers

• Armenian: please add this translation if you can
• Bulgarian: лен m (len)
• Catalan: lli (ca) m
• Dutch: vlas (nl) n
• Esperanto: please add this translation if you can
• Finnish: pellava (fi)
• French: lin (fr) m
• Georgian: please add this translation if you can
• German: Flachs (de) m, Flachsfaser f, Leinen (de) n
• Greek: λινάρι (el) n (linári)

  Ancient: λίνον n (línon)

• Italian: lino (it) m
• Latvian: lini pl

• Norman: lîn m
• Persian: کتان‏‎ (fa) (katân)
• Polish: len (pl) m
• Portuguese: filaça (pt) f
• Romanian: in (ro) n
• Russian: лён (ru) m (ljon)
• Sorbian:

  Lower Sorbian: lan m

• Spanish: filasa f
• Swedish: lin (sv) n
• Tagalog: sulid
• Thai: please add this translation if you can
• Vietnamese: please add this translation if you can

plant native to New Zealand — see phormium

See also

• linen
• tow

Anagrams

• falx

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Swedish

Noun

flax c

1. (slang) (unexpected) good luck

Declension

Declension of flax

	uncountable		uncountable
Neuter	indefinite	definite
nominative	flax	flaxet
genitive	flax	flaxets