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Webster 1913 Edition


Flail

Flail

,
Noun.
[L.
flagellum
whip, scourge, in LL., a threshing flail: cf. OF.
flael
,
flaiel
, F.
fléau
. See
Flagellum
.]
1.
An instrument for threshing or beating grain from the ear by hand, consisting of a wooden staff or handle, at the end of which a stouter and shorter pole or club, called a swipe, is so hung as to swing freely.
His shadowy
flail
hath threshed the corn.
Milton.
2.
An ancient military weapon, like the common flail, often having the striking part armed with rows of spikes, or loaded.
Fairholt.
No citizen thought himself safe unless he carried under his coat a small
flail
, loaded with lead, to brain the Popish assassins.
Macaulay.

Webster 1828 Edition


Flail

FLA'IL

,
Noun.
[L. flagellum. We retain the original verb in flog, to strike, to lay on, L. fligo, whence affligo, to afflict; plaga, a stroke, or perhaps from the same root as lick and lay. Gr. See Lick.]
An instrument for thrashing or beating corn from the ear.

Definition 2024


flail

flail

English

Peasants using flails (tool) to thresh cereal.
a flail (weapon)

Noun

flail (plural flails)

  1. A tool used for threshing, consisting of a long handle with a shorter stick attached with a short piece of chain, thong or similar material.
  2. A weapon which has the (usually spherical) striking part attached to the handle with a flexible joint such as a chain.
Quotations

Translations

Coordinate terms

Verb

flail (third-person singular simple present flails, present participle flailing, simple past and past participle flailed)

  1. (transitive) To beat using a flail or similar implement.
  2. (transitive) To wave or swing vigorously
    • 2011 October 20, Michael da Silva, “Stoke 3 - 0 Macc Tel-Aviv”, in BBC Sport:
      Tangling with Ziv, Cameron caught him with a flailing elbow, causing the Israeli defender to go down a little easily. However, the referee was in no doubt, much to the displeasure of the home fans.
    • 1937, H. P. Lovecraft, The Evil Clergyman
      He stopped in his tracks – then, flailing his arms wildly in the air, began to stagger backwards.
  3. (transitive) To thresh.
  4. (intransitive) To move like a flail.
    He was flailing wildly, but didn't land a blow.

Synonyms

Translations

See also