Etymology

fling

F4L1I1N1G2

Today it means: An act of throwing, often violently. Full definition →

Middle English fling
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fling · noun1

  1. Middle English · inherited fromfling
  2. English todayfling

From Middle English fling, from the verb (see below). Compare Icelandic flengur (“a fast sprint”).

fling · verb2

  1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*pleh₂k-, *pleh₂g-“to beat”
  2. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*pleh₂k-“to beat”
  3. Proto-Germanic · derived from*flangijaną“to beat, whip”
  4. Old Norse · derived fromflengja“to whip”
  5. Middle English · inherited fromflyngen
  6. English todayfling

From Middle English flyngen, from Old Norse flengja (“to whip”), from Proto-Germanic *flangijaną (“to beat, whip”), from Proto-Indo-European *pleh₂k- (“to beat”), from Proto-Indo-European *pleh₂k-, *pleh₂g- (“to beat”). Cognate with Icelandic flengja (“to spank”), Norwegian flengja (“to rip, tear, or fling open”).

Words from the same roots

Proto-Indo-European*pleh₂k- all →

flail

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.