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flail

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flail

  [fleyl]
Use flail in a Sentence
–noun
1. an instrument for threshing grain, consisting of a staff or handle to one end of which is attached a freely swinging stick or bar.
2. a similar instrument used as a weapon of war.
–verb (used with object), verb (used without object)
3. to beat or swing with or as if with a flail.
Origin:
bef. 1100; ME fleil (n.), OE flighel (prob. misspelling of *flegil), c. D vlegel, G Flegel < WGmc *flagil- < LL flagellum flail, L: whip, scourge. See flagellum
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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flail   (flāl)   
n.  A manual threshing device consisting of a long wooden handle or staff and a shorter, free-swinging stick attached to its end.
v.   flailed, flail·ing, flails

v.   tr.

  1. To beat or strike with or as if with a flail: flailed our horses with the reins.

  2. To wave or swing vigorously; thrash: flailed my arms to get their attention.

  3. To thresh using a flail.

v.   intr.

  1. To move vigorously or erratically; thrash about: arms flailing helplessly in the water.

  2. To strike or lash out violently: boxers flailing at each other in the ring.

  3. To thresh grain.


[Middle English, from Old English flegil and from Old French flaiel, both from Late Latin flagellum, threshing tool, from Latin flagrum, whip.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

flail  (n.)
"implement for threshing grain," c.1100, from an unrecorded O.E. *flegel, which probably represents W.Gmc. *flagil (cf. M.Du., Low Ger. vlegel, O.H.G. flegel, Ger. flegel), a borrowing of L.L. flagellum "winnowing tool, flail," from L. flagellum "whip." The v. is 15c., from the n.; originally "to scourge;" sense of "to move like a flail" is from 1874.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: flail
Pronunciation: 'flA(&)l
Function: adjective
: exhibiting abnormal mobility and loss of response to normal controls —used of bodyparts (as joints) damaged by paralysis, accident, or surgery <flail foot> flail at the shoulder>
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

flail (flāl)
v. flailed, flail·ing, flails

  1. To move vigorously or erratically; thrash about.

  2. To strike or lash out violently.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Encyclopedia

flail

ancient hand tool for threshing grain. It consists of two pieces of wood: the handstaff, or helve, and the beater, joined by a thong. The handstaff is a light rod several feet long, the beater a shorter piece. With a flail, one man could thresh 7 bushels of wheat, 8 of rye, 15 of barley, 18 of oats, or 20 of buckwheat in a day (one bushel equals about 35 litres). The flail remained the principal method of threshing until the mid-19th century, when mechanical threshers became widespread (see thresher).

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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