English

Alternative forms

• fla (Yorkshire)
• fley, flee, fly, fleg, flae, flea (Scotland)

Verb

flay ‎(third-person singular simple present flays, present participle flaying, simple past and past participle flayed)

1. (transitive, Britain dialectal, Northern England, Scotland) To cause to fly; put to flight; drive off (by frightening).
2. (transitive, Britain dialectal, Northern England, Scotland) To frighten; scare; terrify.
3. (intransitive, Britain dialectal, Northern England, Scotland) To be fear-stricken.

Derived terms

• flaying

Noun

flay ‎(plural flays)

1. (Britain dialectal, Northern England, Scotland) A fright; a scare.
2. (Britain dialectal, Northern England, Scotland) Fear; a source of fear; a formidable matter; a fearsome or repellent-looking individual.

Derived terms

• flaysome

Etymology 2

From Old English flean from Proto-Germanic *flahaną. Cognate with Old Norse flá ‎(“to flay”), whence Danish flå.

Verb

flay ‎(third-person singular simple present flays, present participle flaying, simple past flayed, past participle flayed or (obsolete) flain)

1. to strip skin off
2. to lash

Synonyms

• (remove the skin of): fleece, flense, skin

Translations

Anagrams

• Alfy