flail
[ fleyl ]
/ fleɪl /
noun
an instrument for threshing grain, consisting of a staff or handle to one end of which is attached a freely swinging stick or bar.
a similar instrument used as a weapon of war.
verb (used with or without object)
to beat or swing with or as if with a flail.
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Nearby words
flagstad, flagstaff, flagstick, flagstone, flaherty, flail, flail chest, flail joint, flair, flak, flak jacket
Origin of flail
before 1100; Middle English fleil (noun), Old English flighel (probably misspelling of *flegil), cognate with Dutch vlegel, German Flegel < West Germanic *flagil- < Late Latin flagellum flail, Latin: whip, scourge. See flagellum
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for flailing
British Dictionary definitions for flailing
flail
/ (fleɪl) /
noun
an implement used for threshing grain, consisting of a wooden handle with a free-swinging metal or wooden bar attached to it
a weapon so shaped used in the Middle Ages
verb
(tr) to beat or thrash with or as if with a flail
to move or be moved like a flail; thresh aboutwith arms flailing
Word Origin for flail
C12 fleil, ultimately from Late Latin flagellum flail, from Latin: whip
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Medicine definitions for flailing
flail
[ flāl ]
v.
To move vigorously or erratically; thrash about.
To strike or lash out violently.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.