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
- To cause to fly; put to flight; drive off; To...
Ancestry of “flay”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle English | flen | plural of fle |
| 2 | Old English | flēon | — |
| 3 | Proto-West Germanic | fleuhan | to flee |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | fleuhaną | to flee; to escape |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | plewk- | to fly, flow, run; to splash, to flap with hands |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | plew- | to fly, flow, run |
Words derived from “flay”