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flinders

[flin-derz]
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plural noun
  1. splinters; small pieces or fragments.
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Origin of flinders

1400–50; late Middle English flendris, perhaps < Scandinavian; compare Norwegian flindra splinter; perhaps akin to flint

Flinders

[flin-derz]
noun
  1. Matthew,1774–1814, English navigator and explorer: surveyed coast of Australia.
  2. a river in NE Australia, flowing NW to the Gulf of Carpentaria. 520 miles (837 km) long.
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Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for flinders

Historical Examples

  • Tasman's account of the natives—Cook's—Labillardière's—Flinders'.

    The History of Tasmania , Volume II (of 2)

    John West

  • When they met at Flinders', communication was difficult, yet their songs were the same.

  • Chips and flinders had been knocked by the same forces from the boulders and the rocks.

    The Dop Doctor

    Clotilde Inez Mary Graves

  • He jerks out his pipe an' breaks it in flinders ober my head.

    Burl

    Morrison Heady

  • "I wish it had stove his old machine all to flinders and him with it," he said to me, revengefully.

    When Life Was Young

    C. A. Stephens

British Dictionary definitions for flinders

flinders

pl n
  1. rare small fragments or splinters (esp in the phrase fly into flinders)
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Word Origin

C15: probably of Scandinavian origin; compare Norwegian flindra thin piece of stone
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 flinders

n.

mid-15c., Scottish flendris, probably related to Norwegian flindra "chip, splinter," or Dutch flenter "fragment;" ultimately from the same PIE root that produced flint.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper