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Webster 1913 Edition

Flaw

Flaw

(fla̤)
,
Noun.
[OE.
flai
,
flaw
flake; cf. Sw.
flaga
flaw, crack, breach, flake, D.
vlaag
gust of wind, Norw.
flage
,
flaag
, and E.
flag
a flat stone.]
1.
A crack or breach; a gap or fissure; a defect of continuity or cohesion;
as, a
flaw
in a knife or a vase
.
This heart
Shall break into a hundered thousand
flaws
.
Shakespeare
2.
A defect; a fault;
as, a
flaw
in reputation; a
flaw
in a will, in a deed, or in a statute.
Has not this also its
flaws
and its dark side?
South.
3.
A sudden burst of noise and disorder; a tumult; uproar; a quarrel.
[Obs.]
And deluges of armies from the town
Came pouring in; I heard the mighty
flaw
.
Dryden.
4.
A sudden burst or gust of wind of short duration.
Snow, and hail, and stormy gust and
flaw
.
Milton.
Syn. – Blemish; fault; imperfection; spot; speck.

Flaw

,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Flawed
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Flawing
.]
1.
To crack; to make flaws in.
The brazen caldrons with the frosts are
flawed
.
Dryden.
2.
To break; to violate; to make of no effect.
[Obs.]
France hath
flawed
the league.
Shakespeare

Webster 1828 Edition

Flaw

FLAW

,
Noun.
[Gr. seems to be contracted .
1.
A breach; a crack; a defect made by breaking or splitting; a gap or fissure; as a flaw in a scythe, knife or razor; a flaw in a china dish, or in a glass; a flaw in a wall.
2.
A defect; a fault; any defect made by violence, or occasioned by neglect; as a flaw in reputation; a flaw in a will, or in a deed, or in a statute.
3.
A sudden burst of wind; a sudden gust or blast of short duration; a word of common use among seamen. [This proves the primary sense to be, to burst or rush.]
4.
A sudden burst of noise and disorder; a tumult; uproar.
And deluges of armies from the town
Came pouring in; I heard the mighty flaw.
[In this sense, the word is not used in the United States.]
5.
A sudden commotion of mind. [Not used.]

FLAW

, v.t.
1.
To break; to crack.
The brazen cauldrons with the frosts are flawed.
2.
To break; to violate; as, to flaw a league. [Little used.]

Definition 2024

flaw

flaw

English

Pronunciation

Noun

flaw ‎(plural flaws)

  1. (obsolete) A flake, fragment, or shiver.
  2. (obsolete) A thin cake, as of ice.
  3. A crack or breach, a gap or fissure; a defect of continuity or cohesion.
    There is a flaw in that knife.
    That vase has a flaw.
    • Shakespeare
      This heart / Shall break into a hundred thousand flaws.
  4. A defect, fault, or imperfection, especially one that is hidden.
    • South
      Has not this also its flaws and its dark side?
  5. (law) A defect or error in a contract or other document which may make the document invalid or ineffective.
    a flaw in a will, in a deed, or in a statute
Synonyms
  • See also Wikisaurus:defect
Derived terms
Translations

Verb

flaw ‎(third-person singular simple present flaws, present participle flawing, simple past and past participle flawed)

  1. (transitive) To add a flaw to, to make imperfect or defective.
  2. (intransitive) To become imperfect or defective.
Translations

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈflɔː/
  • Rhymes: -ɔː

Noun

flaw ‎(plural flaws)

  1. A sudden burst or gust of wind of short duration.
    • Milton
      Snow, and hail, and stormy gust and flaw.
    • Tennyson
      Like flaws in summer laying lusty corn.
  2. A storm of short duration.
  3. A sudden burst of noise and disorder; a tumult; uproar; a quarrel.
    • Dryden
      And deluges of armies from the town / Came pouring in; I heard the mighty flaw.
Translations

Anagrams

Sranan Tongo

Verb

flaw

  1. To faint.

Etymology

From Middle English flawe, flay ‎(“a flake of fire or snow, spark, splinter”), probably from Old Norse flaga ‎(“a flag or slab of stone, flake”), from Proto-Germanic *flagō ‎(“a layer of soil”), from Proto-Indo-European *plāk- ‎(“broad, flat”). Cognate with Icelandic flaga ‎(“flake”), Swedish flaga ‎(“flake, scale”), Danish flage ‎(“flake”), Middle Low German vlage ‎(“a layer of soil”), Old English flōh ‎(“a frament, piece”).

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