Etymology

flemish

flem·ish
F4L1E1M3I1S1H4

Today it means: Of or relating to Flanders, either as the historical county of Flanders (the current provinces of West Flanders and East Flanders in Belgium, Zeelandic Flanders in the Netherlands and French Flanders); or as the Dutch-speaking region of Belgium. Full definition →

Middle English flemmysshe ← Old English flēmisc ← Old Frisian flāmisk
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flemish · noun, verb1

The noun is an ellipsis of Flemish coil, so called because the technique of coiling rope in this manner began with sailors from Flanders. The verb is from Flemish (“of or relating to Flanders”, adjective), from Flemish coil.

Flemish · adjective, proper noun2

  1. Proto-Germanic · derived from*flaumaz“flowing, current water”
  2. Old Frisian · derived fromflāmisk
  3. Old English · inherited fromflēmisc
  4. Middle English · inherited fromflemmysshe
  5. English todayFlemish

From Middle English flemmysshe, from Old English flēmisc, from Old Frisian flāmisk, derived from Proto-Germanic *flaumaz (“flowing, current water”) and *-iskaz. Equivalent to English fleam + -ish. More at Flanders.

Words from the same roots

Proto-Germanic*flaumaz all →

flemingflamingfleam

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.