flay
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See also: Flay
English
[edit]Pronunciation
[edit]- enPR: flā, IPA(key): /fleɪ/
- (dialectal) enPR: flē, IPA(key): /fliː/[1]
Audio (US): (file) - Rhymes: -eɪ
Etymology 1
[edit]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
[edit]Verb
[edit]flay (third-person singular simple present flays, present participle flaying, simple past and past participle flayed)
- (transitive, UK dialectal, Northern England, Scotland) To cause to fly; put to flight; drive off (by frightening).
- (transitive, UK dialectal, Northern England, Scotland) To frighten; scare; terrify.
- 1979, “The Trial”, in The Wall, performed by Pink Floyd:
- If they'd let me have my way, I could have flayed him into shape
- (intransitive, UK dialectal, Northern England, Scotland) To be fear-stricken.
Derived terms
[edit]Noun
[edit]flay (plural flays)
- (UK dialectal, Northern England, Scotland) A fright; a scare.
- (UK dialectal, Northern England, Scotland) Fear; a source of fear; a formidable matter; a fearsome or repellent-looking individual.
Derived terms
[edit]Etymology 2
[edit]From Middle English flen, from Old English flēan, from Proto-West Germanic *flahan, from Proto-Germanic *flahaną.
Verb
[edit]flay (third-person singular simple present flays, present participle flaying, simple past flayed or (archaic) flew, past participle flayed or (archaic) flain)
- 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.
- To lash or whip.
Synonyms
[edit]Derived terms
[edit]Translations
[edit]to strip skin off
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References
[edit]Anagrams
[edit]Categories:
- English 1-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio pronunciation
- Rhymes:English/eɪ
- Rhymes:English/eɪ/1 syllable
- English terms inherited from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms inherited from Old English
- English terms derived from Old English
- English terms inherited from Proto-Germanic
- English terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- English lemmas
- English verbs
- English transitive verbs
- British English
- English dialectal terms
- Northern England English
- Scottish English
- English terms with quotations
- English intransitive verbs
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- English terms inherited from Proto-West Germanic
- English terms derived from Proto-West Germanic
- en:Fear