flail

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• /fleɪl/
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• archaic, dialectal: /fɹeɪl/
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• US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
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• Australia: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
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• rhymes with -eɪl
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• CMU ARPABET: F L EY1 L Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
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From Middle English flayle, from earlier fleil, fleyl, fleȝȝl, from Old English fligel, *flegel (“flail”), from Proto-West Germanic *flagil, of uncertain origin. Cognate with Scots flail (“a thresher's flail”), West Frisian fleil, flaaiel (“flail”), Dutch vlegel (“flail”), German Flegel (“flail”). Possibly a native Germanic word from Proto-Germanic *flagilaz (“whip”), from Proto-Germanic *flag-, *flah- (“to whip, beat”), from Proto-Indo-European *pleh2k- (“to beat, hit, strike; weep”); compare Old Norse flaga (“sudden attack, bout”), Lithuanian plàkti (“to whip, lash, flog”), Ancient Greek πληγνύναι (plēgnúnai, “strike, hit, encounter”), Latin plangō (“lament”, i.e. “beat one's breast”) + Proto-Germanic *-ilaz (instrumental suffix). If so, related also to English flag, flack, flacker. Alternatively, Proto-West Germanic *flagil may be an early borrowing of Latin flagellum (“winnowing tool, thresher”), diminutive of flagrum (“scourge, whip”), from Proto-Indo-European *bhlag-, *bhlaǵ- (“to beat”); compare Old Norse blekkja (“to beat, mistreat”). Compare also Old French flael (“flail”), Walloon flayea (“flail”) (locally pronounced "flai"), Italian flagello (“scourge, whip, plague”).

157 source translations are retained for this English entry.

• Belarusian: цэп (cep) — tool
• Breton: freilh — tool
• Bulgarian: цеп (cep) — tool
• Bulgarian: млатило (mlatilo) — tool
• Catalan: batolles — tool
• Catalan: flagell — tool
• Chinese Mandarin: 連枷 /连枷 (liánjiā) — tool
• Chinese Mandarin: 枷 (jiā) — tool
• Chinese Mandarin: 耞 (jiā) — tool
• Czech: cep — tool
• Dalmatian: frazial — tool
• Danish: plejl — tool
• Dutch: vlegel — tool
• Dutch: dorsvlegel — tool
• Esperanto: draŝilo — tool
• Estonian: koot — tool
• Estonian: pint — tool
• Finnish: varsta — tool
• French: fléau — tool
• Galician: mallo — tool
• Galician: mal — tool
• Galician: manlle — tool
• Galician: manle — tool
• German: Flegel — tool
• German: Dreschflegel — tool
• German: plegel — tool
• German: pflegel — tool
• Greek: κόπανος (kópanos) — tool
• Hungarian: cséphadaró — tool
• Ingrian: raaka — tool
• Irish: súiste — tool
• Italian: correggiato — tool
• Japanese: 唐棹 — tool
• Komi-Zyrian: вартан (vartan) — tool
• Latin: pertica trituaria — tool
• Latvian: sprigulis — tool
• Macedonian: чу́кало (čúkalo) — tool
• Macedonian: вршилка (vršilka) — tool
• Māori: karawhiu — tool
• Eastern Mari: сапондо (sapondo) — tool
• Western Mari: сепанды (sepandy) — tool
• Middle English: fleyl — tool
• Plautdietsch: Fläajel — tool
• Polish: cep — tool
• Portuguese: mangual — tool
• Portuguese: malho — tool
• Romanian: îmblăciu — tool
• Romansh: squassuir — tool
• Romansh: flagè — tool
• Russian: цеп (cep) — tool
• Serbo-Croatian: це̑п — tool
• Serbo-Croatian: мла̑т — tool
• Serbo-Croatian: cȇp — tool
• Serbo-Croatian: mlȃt — tool
• Slovak: cep — tool
• Slovene: cepec — tool
• Lower Sorbian: cepy — tool
• Spanish: mayal — tool
• Swedish: slaga — tool
• Swedish: pläjel — tool
• Swedish: präjel — tool
• Swedish: prägel — tool
• Tagalog: tiyuka — tool
• Tarifit: azduz — tool
• Ottoman Turkish: دوگن (döğen, düğen, döven, düven) — tool
• Udmurt: кутэс (kutes) — tool
• Ukrainian: ціп (cip) — tool
• Walloon: flayea — tool
• Welsh: ffust — tool
• Azerbaijani: əmud — weapon
• Breton: freilh-brezel — weapon
• Bulgarian: млати́ло (mlatílo) — weapon
• Chinese Mandarin: 連枷 /连枷 (liánjiā) — weapon
• Czech: řemdih — weapon
• Danish: kampplejl — weapon
• Danish: stridsplejl — weapon
• Dutch: strijdvlegel — weapon
• Finnish: ketjukuulanuija — weapon
• Finnish: sotavarsta — weapon
• French: fléau d’armes — weapon
• Georgian: ლახტი (laxṭi) — weapon
• German: Flegel — weapon
• German: Streitflegel — weapon
• German: Kriegsflegel — weapon
• Hungarian: láncos buzogány — weapon
• Irish: súiste — weapon
• Italian: mazzafrusto — weapon
• Japanese: フレイル (fureiru) — weapon
• Japanese: 連接棍 (rensetsukon) — weapon
• Japanese: 連接棍棒 (rensetsu konbō) — weapon
• Latin: tritorium bellicum — weapon
• Macedonian: млат (mlat) — weapon
• Macedonian: чу́кало (čúkalo) — weapon
• Persian: سالیخ (sâlix) — weapon
• Polish: cep bojowy — weapon
• Polish: kiścień — weapon
• Portuguese: mangual — weapon
• Romanian: buzdugan — weapon
• Russian: кисте́нь (kisténʹ) — weapon
• Serbo-Croatian: мла̀тило — weapon
• Serbo-Croatian: мла̑т — weapon
• Serbo-Croatian: mlàtilo — weapon
• Serbo-Croatian: mlȃt — weapon
• Slovak: remdik — weapon
• Slovak: řemdih — weapon
• Slovene: mlat — weapon
• Spanish: mayal de armas — weapon
• Swedish: stridsgissel — weapon
• Swedish: stridsslaga — weapon
• Tarifit: azduz — weapon
• Turkish: gürz — weapon
• Welsh: dyrnflaidd — weapon
• Bulgarian: млатя (mlatja) — to beat with a flail or similar tool
• Māori: tuangau — to beat with a flail or similar tool
• Bulgarian: млатя (mlatja) — to wave or swing vigorously
• Esperanto: barakti — to wave or swing vigorously
• Finnish: huitoa — to wave or swing vigorously
• Finnish: viuhtoa — to wave or swing vigorously
• Finnish: puida — to wave or swing vigorously
• French: se débattre — to wave or swing vigorously
• German: wild um sich schlagen — to wave or swing vigorously
• Greek: σφαδάζω (sfadázo) — to wave or swing vigorously
• Hungarian: hadonászik — to wave or swing vigorously
• Hungarian: csapkod — to wave or swing vigorously
• Hungarian: vagdalkozik — to wave or swing vigorously
• Russian: разма́хивать (razmáxivatʹ) — to wave or swing vigorously
• Russian: маха́ть (maxátʹ) — to wave or swing vigorously
• Serbo-Croatian: размахи́вати — to wave or swing vigorously
• Serbo-Croatian: млата̀рати — to wave or swing vigorously
• Serbo-Croatian: razmahívati — to wave or swing vigorously
• Serbo-Croatian: mlatàrati — to wave or swing vigorously
• Spanish: sacudirse — to wave or swing vigorously
• Spanish: agitarse — to wave or swing vigorously
• Spanish: debatirse — to wave or swing vigorously
• Swedish: fäkta — to wave or swing vigorously
• Swedish: vifta — to wave or swing vigorously
• Bulgarian: вършея ръчно (vǎršeja rǎčno) — to thresh
• Dutch: dorsen — to thresh
• Esperanto: draŝi — to thresh
• Finnish: puida — to thresh
• French: battre — to thresh
• French: passer à tabac — to thresh
• French: rosser — to thresh
• Galician: mallar — to thresh
• German: dreschen — to thresh
• Hungarian: csépel — to thresh
• Japanese: 弾ける (hajikeru) — to thresh
• Macedonian: врши (vrši) — to thresh
• Macedonian: мла́ти (mláti) — to thresh
• Portuguese: malhar — to thresh
• Portuguese: debulhar — to thresh
• Portuguese: espalhar — to thresh
• Russian: молоти́ть (molotítʹ) — to thresh
• Serbo-Croatian: мла́тити — to thresh
• Serbo-Croatian: mlátiti — to thresh
• Spanish: desgranar — to thresh
• Swedish: tröska — to thresh