flay

• enPR: flā, IPA^(key): /fleɪ/

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• Rhymes: -eɪ

From Middle English flayen, flaien, fleien, from Old English *flīeġan ("to cause to fly, put to flight, frighten"; found only in compounds: āflīeġan), from Proto-Germanic *flaugijaną (“to let fly, cause to fly”), causitive of Proto-Germanic *fleuganą (“to fly”), from Proto-Indo-European *plew-k-, *plew- (“to run, flow, swim, fly”). Cognate with Old High German arflaugjan ("to frighten, cause to flee"; whence Middle High German ervlougen (“to put to flight, drive away, expel”)), Icelandic fleygja (“to throw away, discard”), Gothic 𐌿𐍃-𐍆𐌻𐌰𐌿𐌲𐌾𐌰𐌽 (us-flaugjan, “to cause to fly”).

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

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.

• flaying

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.

• flaysome

From Middle English flen, from Old English flēan from Proto-Germanic *flahaną. Cognate with Norwegian and Danish flå.

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

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

• beflay
• unflayed

• Alfy