Where does “flail” come from?
Flail comes from Middle English flaile, from Middle English fleil, from Old English fligel, from Proto-Germanic flagilaz.
flail (English): A tool used for threshing, consisting of a long...
Definitions
- A tool used for threshing, consisting of a long...
Ancestry of “flail”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | flayle | — |
| 2 | Old English | fligel | flail, whip |
| 3 | Old English | flegel | flail |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | *flagil | — |
| 5 | Latin | flagellum | whip, lash, scourge; whip for driving animals;... |
| 6 | Latin | -lus | Alternative form of -ulus; diminutive suffix |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | -elos | Forms desubstantival and deadjectival diminutive nouns |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | -e-lós | — |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | -lós | Forms agent nouns from verbal roots |