Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “flake” come from?

Flake comes from Middle English flake, from Old English flacca, a word of unknown origin and meaning.

flake (English): A loose filmy mass or a thin chiplike layer of...

Definitions

  1. A loose filmy mass or a thin chiplike layer of...

Ancestry of “flake”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishflakea flake of snow
2Old Norseflakloose or torn piece
3Proto-Germanicflakąsomething flat
4Proto-Indo-Europeanpleh₂-flat

Words derived from “flake”

  • flaky
  • snowflake
  • flakiness
  • cornflake
  • flaker
  • flakelike
  • microflake
  • flakily
  • flakeboard
  • snowflakelike
  • flakeable
  • soapflake
  • Flakegate
  • snowflaky
  • beflake
  • unflaky
  • snowflake generation
  • nonflaky
  • sootflake
  • nanoflake
  • flakeless
Every word from Proto-Indo-European pleh₂- →