floss

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• Received-Pronunciation: /flɒs/
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• General-American: /flɔs/
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• cot-caught-merger: /flɑs/
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• US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
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• General-American: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
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• rhymes with -ɒs
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• rhymes with -ɔːs
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• CMU ARPABET: F L AA1 S Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
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Unclear: * Possibly from French floche (“tuft of wool”), from floc, from Old French flosche (“down, velvet”), from Latin floccus (“piece of wool”), probably from Frankish *flokkō (“down, wool, flock”), from Proto-Germanic *flukkô (“down, piece of wool, flock”), from Proto-Indo-European *plewk- (“hair, fibres, tuft”). * Or, from Middle English *flos (attested in Middle English Flosmonger (a surname)), from Proto-West Germanic *fleus, related to English fleece. Cognate with Old High German flocko (“down”), Middle Dutch vlocke (“flock”), Norwegian dialectal flugsa (“snowflake”), Dutch flos (“plush”) (tr=17c.).

From dialectal flosh (“a flush, stream of water, sluice”), from Middle English flosche, flusche, flasche, flaske (“a watery or marshy place, swamp”), perhaps from Old French flache, from Middle Dutch vlacke (“a flat area, plain”), ultimately related to Proto-West Germanic *fleutan. Compare also German Floss (“a float”).

Origin obscure. Perhaps of North Germanic origin. Compare Norwegian flos, flus (“rind, scale, strip peeled off”).

72 source translations are retained for this English entry.

• Arabic: خَيْط أَسْنَان (ḵayṭ ʔasnān) — a thread used to clean the gaps between the teeth
• Armenian: ատամի թել (atami tʻel) — a thread used to clean the gaps between the teeth
• Bulgarian: коне́ц за зъ́би (konéc za zǎ́bi) — a thread used to clean the gaps between the teeth
• Catalan: fil dental — a thread used to clean the gaps between the teeth
• Chinese Cantonese: 牙線 /牙线 (ngaa4 sin3) — a thread used to clean the gaps between the teeth
• Chinese: 齒線 /齿线 (khí-soàn) — a thread used to clean the gaps between the teeth
• Chinese Mandarin: 牙線 /牙线 (yáxiàn) — a thread used to clean the gaps between the teeth
• Danish: tandtråd — a thread used to clean the gaps between the teeth
• Finnish: hammaslanka — a thread used to clean the gaps between the teeth
• French: fil dentaire — a thread used to clean the gaps between the teeth
• German: Zahnseide — a thread used to clean the gaps between the teeth
• Greek: οδοντόνημα (odontónima) — a thread used to clean the gaps between the teeth
• Greek: οδοντική μέταξα (odontikí métaxa) — a thread used to clean the gaps between the teeth
• Hungarian: fogselyem — a thread used to clean the gaps between the teeth
• Icelandic: tannþráður — a thread used to clean the gaps between the teeth
• Indonesian: benang gigi — a thread used to clean the gaps between the teeth
• Italian: filo interdentale — a thread used to clean the gaps between the teeth
• Japanese: デンタルフロス (dentaru furosu) — a thread used to clean the gaps between the teeth
• Japanese: フロス (furosu) — a thread used to clean the gaps between the teeth
• Māori: miro niho — a thread used to clean the gaps between the teeth
• Navajo: wókʼiz naadǫ́zí — a thread used to clean the gaps between the teeth
• Navajo: awókʼiz análdiłí — a thread used to clean the gaps between the teeth
• Navajo: awókʼiz bee naʼnildizí — a thread used to clean the gaps between the teeth
• Norwegian Bokmål: tanntråd — a thread used to clean the gaps between the teeth
• Norwegian Nynorsk: tanntråd — a thread used to clean the gaps between the teeth
• Polish: nić dentystyczna — a thread used to clean the gaps between the teeth
• Portuguese: fio dental — a thread used to clean the gaps between the teeth
• Romanian: ață dentară — a thread used to clean the gaps between the teeth
• Russian: ни́тка для чи́стки зубо́в (nítka dlja čístki zubóv) — a thread used to clean the gaps between the teeth
• Russian: зубна́я нить (zubnája nitʹ) — a thread used to clean the gaps between the teeth
• Russian: флосс (floss) — a thread used to clean the gaps between the teeth
• Spanish: hilo dental — a thread used to clean the gaps between the teeth
• Spanish: hilo dentario — a thread used to clean the gaps between the teeth
• Spanish: hilo dentífrico — a thread used to clean the gaps between the teeth
• Spanish: hilo dentífrico — a thread used to clean the gaps between the teeth
• Spanish: hilo dentrífrico — a thread used to clean the gaps between the teeth
• Swedish: tandtråd — a thread used to clean the gaps between the teeth
• Vietnamese: chỉ nha khoa — a thread used to clean the gaps between the teeth
• Bulgarian: необработена коприна (neobrabotena koprina) — silk fibres
• Danish: floretsilke — silk fibres
• Danish: råsilke — silk fibres
• Finnish: raakasilkki — silk fibres
• German: Rohseide — silk fibres
• German: Seidenfaser — silk fibres
• Greek: ακατέργαστο μετάξι (akatérgasto metáxi) — silk fibres
• Indonesian: serat sutra — silk fibres
• Bulgarian: свила (svila) — the fibres covering a corncob etc.
• Danish: dun — the fibres covering a corncob etc.
• Danish: silke — the fibres covering a corncob etc.
• Finnish: kuitu — the fibres covering a corncob etc.
• German: Maiskolbenfaser — the fibres covering a corncob etc.
• Portuguese: cabelo — the fibres covering a corncob etc.
• Finnish: kuitu — any thread-like material having parallel strands
• Bulgarian: захарен памук (zaharen pamuk) — spun sugar or cotton candy
• Finnish: hattara — spun sugar or cotton candy
• French: barbe à papa — spun sugar or cotton candy
• German: Zuckerwatte — spun sugar or cotton candy
• Greek: μαλλί της γριάς (mallí tis griás) — spun sugar or cotton candy
• Hungarian: vattacukor — spun sugar or cotton candy
• Indonesian: gulali — spun sugar or cotton candy
• Indonesian: gula kapas — spun sugar or cotton candy
• Indonesian: permen kapas — spun sugar or cotton candy
• Italian: zucchero filato — spun sugar or cotton candy
• Māori: wūru huka — spun sugar or cotton candy
• Russian: са́харная ва́та (sáxarnaja váta) — spun sugar or cotton candy
• Swedish: sockervadd — spun sugar or cotton candy
• Finnish: puro — small stream
• Hungarian: patak — small stream
• Hungarian: ér — small stream
• Portuguese: usar fio dental — Translations
• Spanish: usar hilo dental — Translations
• Spanish: limpiarse con hilo dental — Translations