flaw

1 [flaw]
noun
1.
a feature that mars the perfection of something; defect; fault: beauty without flaw; the flaws in our plan.
2.
a defect impairing legal soundness or validity.
3.
a crack, break, breach, or rent.
verb (used with object)
4.
to produce a flaw in.
verb (used without object)
5.
to contract a flaw; become cracked or defective.

Origin:
1275–1325; Middle English flaw(e), flage, perhaps < Old Norse flaga sliver, flake

flaw·less, adjective


1. imperfection, blot, spot. See defect. 3. fissure, rift.
00:10
Flaw is one of our favorite verbs.
So is skedaddle. Does it mean:
to run away hurriedly; flee.
to chew (food) slowly and thoroughly.
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flaw

2 [flaw]
noun
1.
Also called windflaw. a sudden, usually brief windstorm or gust of wind.
2.
a short spell of rough weather.
3.
Obsolete. a burst of feeling, fury, etc.

Origin:
1475–85; < Old Norse flaga attack, squall

flaw·y, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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World English Dictionary
flaw1 (flɔː) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
n
1.  an imperfection, defect, or blemish
2.  a crack, breach, or rift
3.  law an invalidating fault or defect in a document or proceeding
 
vb
4.  to make or become blemished, defective, or imperfect
 
[C14: probably from Old Norse flaga stone slab; related to Swedish flaga chip, flake, flaw]
 
'flawless1
 
adj
 
'flawlessly1
 
adv
 
'flawlessness1
 
n

flaw2 (flɔː) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
n
1.  a.  a sudden short gust of wind; squall
 b.  a spell of bad, esp windy, weather
2.  obsolete an outburst of strong feeling
 
[C16: of Scandinavian origin; related to Norwegian flaga squall, gust, Middle Dutch vlāghe]
 
'flawy2
 
adj

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

flaw
early 14c., "snowflake, spark of fire," from O.N. flaga "stone slab, flake" (see flagstone); sense of "defect, fault" first recorded 1580s, first of character, later (c.1600) of material things; probably via notion of a "fragment" broken off. Related: Flawed (early 15c.).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Example sentences
It was a design flaw, and yet vacuum cleaners had been made that way for a
  hundred years.
But two months later the plan still lacks detail-and has an obvious flaw.
My hats go off to you for exposing this major engineering flaw.
The book's largest flaw is that it is not as careful and clear-eyed politically
  as it is economically.
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