Where does “flay” come from?

Flay comes from Middle English fleien, Old English flēgan, Proto-Germanic flaugijaną and fleuganą, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European plew-k- and plew-, with sense development obscured by semantic shift across the language stages.

flay (English): To cause to fly; put to flight; drive off; To...

Definitions

  1. To cause to fly; put to flight; drive off; To...

Ancestry of “flay”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishflenplural of fle
2Old Englishflēonto flee
3Proto-West Germanicfleuhanto flee
4Proto-Germanicfleuhanąto flee; to escape
5Proto-Indo-Europeanplewk-to fly, flow, run; to splash, to flap with hands
6Proto-Indo-Europeanplew-to fly, flow, run

Words derived from “flay”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European plew- →Every word from Proto-Indo-European plewk- →Every word from Proto-Germanic fleuhaną →