flea
See also: fleá
EnglishEdit
Etymology 1Edit
From Middle English fle, from Old English flēah, flēa, from Proto-West Germanic *flauh, from Proto-Germanic *flauhaz (compare West Frisian flie, Low German Flo, Flö, Dutch vlo, German Floh, Icelandic fló), from pre-Germanic *plóukos, *plówkos, from Proto-Indo-European *plúsis (compare Latin pulex, Sanskrit प्लुषि (plúṣi)).
The archaic plural fleen is from Middle English fleen, flen, from Old English flēan (“fleas”).
PronunciationEdit
- Rhymes: -iː
- Homophones: flee
NounEdit
flea (plural fleas)
- A small, wingless, parasitic insect of the order Siphonaptera, renowned for its bloodsucking habits and jumping abilities.
- (derogatory) A thing of no significance.
- 1871, Fitz Hugh Ludlow, The Heart of the Continent, page 414:
- The nation of beggars on horseback which first colonized California has left behind it many traditions unworthy of conservation, and multitudinous fleas not at all traditional, but even less keepworthy […]
Derived termsEdit
TranslationsEdit
parasitic insect
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VerbEdit
flea (third-person singular simple present fleas, present participle fleaing, simple past and past participle fleaed)
- (transitive) To remove fleas from (an animal).
- Synonym: deflea
- 1861, Horace William Wheelwright, Bush Wanderings of a Naturalist (page 192)
- I have seen a Lubra, or native woman, suckling two puppies; and, like monkeys, these ladies have a particular fancy for fleaing their dogs.
Etymology 2Edit
Alternative forms.
VerbEdit
flea (third-person singular simple present fleas, present participle fleaing, simple past and past participle flead)
- Obsolete spelling of flay
- 1749, Henry Fielding, Tom Jones, Folio Society 1973, p. 74:
- In this Thwackum had the advantage; for while Square could only scarify the poor lad's reputation, he could flea his skin [...].
- 1605, Miguel de Cervantes, Don Quixote, Everyman's Library 1991, p. 36:
- [...] he'd flea me alive like another St Bartholomew.
- 1749, Henry Fielding, Tom Jones, Folio Society 1973, p. 74: