different between flab vs flay

English

Etymology

Back-formation from flabby.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /flæb/
• Rhymes: -æb

Noun

flab (usually uncountable, plural flabs)

1. (informal) Soft, loose flesh on a person's body; fat.

Synonyms

• spare tire (North America)
• spare tyre (United Kingdom)
• roll of fat

Translations

English

Pronunciation

• enPR: fl?, IPA^(key): /fle?/
• Rhymes: -e?

Etymology 1

From Middle English flayen, flaien, fleien, from Old English *fl?e?an ("to cause to fly, put to flight, frighten"; found only in compounds: ?fl?e?an), from Proto-Germanic *flaugijan? (“to let fly, cause to fly”), causative of Proto-Germanic *fleugan? (“to fly”).

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 Middle English flen, from Old English fl?an, from Proto-West Germanic *flahan, from Proto-Germanic *flahan?.

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; to skin.
2. To lash or whip.

Synonyms

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

Derived terms

• beflay
• unflayed

Translations

Anagrams

• Alfy