flay
See also: Flay
English edit
Pronunciation edit
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, past participle flayed or (obsolete) 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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