flake

flake · noun, verb¹

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*pleh₂-“flat, broad, plain”
2. Proto-Germanic · derived from*flaką“something flat”
3. Old Norse · derived fromflak“loose or torn piece”
4. Old English · inherited fromflacca
5. Middle English · inherited fromflake“a flake of snow”
6. English todayflake

From Middle English flake (“a flake of snow”), from Old English flacca and/or Old Norse flak (“loose or torn piece”) (compare Old Norse flakna (“to flake or chip”)), from Proto-Germanic *flaką (“something flat”), from Proto-Indo-European *pleh₂- (“flat, broad, plain”). Cognate with Norwegian flak (“slice, sliver”, literally “piece torn off”), Swedish flak (“a thin slice”), Danish flage (“flake”), German Flocke (“flake”), Dutch vlak (“smooth surface, plain”) and vlok (“flake”), as well as with Latin plaga (“flat surface, district, region”) and Welsh llech (“slate, tablet”). Doublet of plage.

flake · noun²

A name given to dogfish to improve its marketability as a food, perhaps from etymology 1.

flake · noun³

Compare Icelandic flaki, Icelandic fleki, Danish flage, Dutch vlaak.

Words from the same roots