Dictionary.com
definitions
  • synonyms

flense

[flens]
See more synonyms on Thesaurus.com
verb (used with object), flensed, flens·ing.
  1. to strip the blubber or the skin from (a whale, seal, etc.).
  2. to strip off (blubber or skin).
Also flench [flench] /flɛntʃ/, flinch.

Origin of flense

1805–15; < Danish flense or Dutch flensen
Related formsflens·er, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for flench

Historical Examples

  • After dinner all hands turned to again to "flench" the blubber and prepare for trying out.

    Appletons' Popular Science Monthly, April 1899

    Various

British Dictionary definitions for flench

flense

flench (flɛntʃ) or flinch (flɪntʃ)

verb
  1. (tr) to strip (a whale, seal, etc) of (its blubber or skin)
Derived Formsflenser, flencher or flincher, noun

Word Origin

C19: from Danish flense; related to Dutch flensen
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for flench

flense

v.

also flench, 1814, from Danish flense, perhaps from PIE root *(s)plei- "to splice, split." Related: Flenser; flensing.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper