fluke

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• UK: /fluːk/
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• UK: flo͞ok
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• US: /fluk/
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• US: flo͞ok
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• obsolete: /fljuːk/
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• obsolete: flyo͞ok
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• US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
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• rhymes with -uːk
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• CMU ARPABET: F L UW1 K Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
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Variant of Flook.

Unknown, perhaps dialectal. It seems to have originally referred to a lucky shot at billiards. Possibly connected to sense 3, referring to whales' use of flukes to move rapidly. Possibly derived from German Glück (“luck, good fortune, happiness”).

From Old English flōc (“flatfish”), of Germanic origin, related to German flach (“flat”), Old Norse floke (“flatfish”), all ultimately from Proto-Germanic *flakaz.

Mid-16th century in the sense of “anchor blade”. Probably the same word as in etymology 2 above or else a related word for something flat (cf. Proto-Germanic *flakaz). A derivation from Middle Low German vlögel (“wing”), from Proto-Germanic *flugilaz, seems phonetically impossible. If anything, related vlōch, vlucht (“flight”, both also “wing”) or even *vlunke (modern Low German Flunk (“wing, pinion”)) are more plausible candidates. Note that the kind of whale's fin is called Fluke in contemporary German, but this is likely from English.

95 source translations are retained for this English entry.

• Bulgarian: щастлива случайност (štastliva slučajnost) — stroke of luck
• Catalan: xamba — stroke of luck
• Chinese Mandarin: 僥倖 /侥幸 (jiǎoxìng) — stroke of luck
• Chinese Mandarin: 運氣 /运气 (yùnqi) — stroke of luck
• Czech: šťastná náhoda — stroke of luck
• Czech: klika — stroke of luck
• Dutch: toevalstreffer — stroke of luck
• Finnish: onnenpotku — stroke of luck
• Finnish: onnenkantamoinen — stroke of luck
• French: coup de chance — stroke of luck
• French: coup de bol — stroke of luck
• Galician: potra — stroke of luck
• Galician: golpe de sorte — stroke of luck
• German: Glücksfall — stroke of luck
• German: glücklicher Zufall — stroke of luck
• Hungarian: mázli — stroke of luck
• Irish: taisme — stroke of luck
• Italian: caso — stroke of luck
• Italian: caso fortuito — stroke of luck
• Italian: colpo di fortuna — stroke of luck
• Japanese: まぐれ (magure) — stroke of luck
• Japanese: 紛れ当たり (magureatari) — stroke of luck
• Korean: 요행수 (yohaengsu) — stroke of luck
• Korean: 뽀록 (pporok) — stroke of luck
• Polish: fuks — stroke of luck
• Polish: szczęśliwy traf — stroke of luck
• Polish: fart — stroke of luck
• Portuguese: golpe de sorte — stroke of luck
• Portuguese: acaso da sorte — stroke of luck
• Portuguese: fortuna inesperada — stroke of luck
• Portuguese: acaso feliz — stroke of luck
• Portuguese: cagada — stroke of luck
• Romanian: pleașcă — stroke of luck
• Romanian: noroc chior — stroke of luck
• Russian: уда́ча (udáča) — stroke of luck
• Russian: везе́ние (vezénije) — stroke of luck
• Russian: счастли́вая случа́йность (sčastlívaja slučájnostʹ) — stroke of luck
• Spanish: chiripa — stroke of luck
• Spanish: churro — stroke of luck
• Spanish: anomalía — stroke of luck
• Spanish: champa — stroke of luck
• Spanish: moñona — stroke of luck
• Spanish: carambola — stroke of luck
• Swedish: lyckträff — stroke of luck
• Swedish: oförutsedd tur — stroke of luck
• Tagalog: tsamba — stroke of luck
• Dutch: staartvin — lobe of whale's tail
• Esperanto: vosta naĝilo — lobe of whale's tail
• Finnish: pyrstön haara — lobe of whale's tail
• Finnish: valaan pyrstön haara — lobe of whale's tail
• German: Fluke — lobe of whale's tail
• Manx: arbyl — lobe of whale's tail
• Māori: peke — lobe of whale's tail
• Portuguese: lobo da cauda de baleia — lobe of whale's tail
• Russian: хвостово́й плавни́к (xvostovój plavník) — lobe of whale's tail
• Spanish: lóbulo — lobe of whale's tail
• Swahili: mkia wa nyangumi — lobe of whale's tail
• Swedish: fluke — lobe of whale's tail
• Bulgarian: лапа (lapa) — anchor blade
• Czech: kotevní list — anchor blade
• Dutch: ankerblad — anchor blade
• Dutch: ankerhand — anchor blade
• Dutch: wem — anchor blade
• Esperanto: ankra pinto — anchor blade
• Finnish: ankkurinkoura — anchor blade
• French: pelle — anchor blade
• German: Flunke — anchor blade
• Italian: gancio — anchor blade
• Norman: patte — anchor blade
• Polish: łapa (kotwicy) — anchor blade
• Portuguese: pata de âncora — anchor blade
• Russian: ла́па я́коря (lápa jákorja) — anchor blade
• Spanish: uña — anchor blade
• Spanish: pico de loro — anchor blade
• Bulgarian: мети́л (metíl) — parasitic flatworm
• Czech: motolice — parasitic flatworm
• Dutch: zuigworm — parasitic flatworm
• Finnish: maksamato — parasitic flatworm
• Finnish: lampaan maksamato — parasitic flatworm
• French: douve — parasitic flatworm
• German: Saugwurm — parasitic flatworm
• Hungarian: métely — parasitic flatworm
• Irish: puchán — parasitic flatworm
• Irish: treimeatóid — parasitic flatworm
• Polish: przywra — parasitic flatworm
• Russian: двуу́стка (dvuústka) — parasitic flatworm
• Russian: соса́льщик (sosálʹščik) — parasitic flatworm
• Russian: тремато́да (trematóda) — parasitic flatworm
• Bulgarian: контра (kontra) — a metal hook on the head of certain staff weapons
• Dutch: weerhaak — a metal hook on the head of certain staff weapons
• Finnish: väkä — a metal hook on the head of certain staff weapons
• Finnish: metallinen koukku keihään päässä — a metal hook on the head of certain staff weapons
• Russian: зазу́брина (zazúbrina) — a metal hook on the head of certain staff weapons
• Russian: крюк (krjuk) — a metal hook on the head of certain staff weapons
• Spanish: muerte — a metal hook on the head of certain staff weapons