different between flame vs flam

English

Etymology

From Middle English flawme, flaume, flaumbe, blend of Old French flame and flambe, flamble, the first from Latin flamma, the second from Latin flammula, diminutive of flamma, both from pre-Latin *fladma; ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *b?l?- (“to shimmer, gleam, shine”).

Pronunciation

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

Noun

flame (countable and uncountable, plural flames)

1. The visible part of fire; a stream of burning vapour or gas, emitting light and heat.

   • Long after his cigar burnt bitter, he sat with eyes fixed on the blaze. When the flames at last began to flicker and subside, his lids fluttered, then drooped; but he had lost all reckoning of time when he opened them again to find Miss Erroll in furs and ball-gown kneeling on the hearth […].
2. A romantic partner or lover in a usually short-lived but passionate affair.
   • 1844, William Makepeace Thackeray, The Luck of Barry Lyndon

     I could copy out yards of rhapsody to Lord George Poynings, her old flame, in which she addressed him by the most affectionate names.

3. (Internet) Intentionally insulting criticism or remark meant to incite anger.
4. A brilliant reddish orange-gold fiery colour.
5. (music, chiefly lutherie) The contrasting light and dark figure seen in wood used for stringed instrument making; the curl.

6. Burning zeal, passion, imagination, excitement, or anger.
   • (Can we find and add a quotation of Coleridge to this entry?)

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

Verb

flame (third-person singular simple present flames, present participle flaming, simple past and past participle flamed)

1. To produce flames; to burn with a flame or blaze.
2. To burst forth like flame; to break out in violence of passion; to be kindled with zeal or ardour.
3. (Internet, transitive, intransitive) To post a destructively critical or abusive message (to somebody).

   I flamed him for spamming in my favourite newsgroup.

   • 2019, Steven McCornack & Kelly Morrison, Reflect & Relate, 5th edition

     Because online communication makes it easy to flame, many of us impetuously fire off messages that we later regret.

Derived terms

• flamer
• flaming

Related terms

• flambé

Translations

Adjective

flame (not comparable)

1. Of a brilliant reddish orange-gold colour, like that of a flame.

Translations

See also

• (reds) red; blood red, brick red, burgundy, cardinal, carmine, carnation, cerise, cherry, cherry red, Chinese red, cinnabar, claret, crimson, damask, fire brick, fire engine red, flame, flamingo, fuchsia, garnet, geranium, gules, hot pink, incarnadine, Indian red, magenta, maroon, misty rose, nacarat, oxblood, pillar-box red, pink, Pompeian red, poppy, raspberry, red violet, rose, rouge, ruby, ruddy, salmon, sanguine, scarlet, shocking pink, stammel, strawberry, Turkey red, Venetian red, vermillion, vinaceous, vinous, violet red, wine ^{(Category: en:Reds)}

Anagrams

• femal, fleam

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /flam/
• Homophones: flament, flames

Verb

flame

1. first-person singular present indicative of flamer
2. third-person singular present indicative of flamer
3. first-person singular present subjunctive of flamer
4. third-person singular present subjunctive of flamer
5. second-person singular imperative of flamer

Middle English

Etymology 1

From Old French flame.

Noun

flame

1. Alternative form of flawme

Etymology 2

From Old French flamber.

Verb

flame

1. Alternative form of flawmen

Old French

Etymology

From Latin flamma.

Noun

flame f (oblique plural flames, nominative singular flame, nominative plural flames)

1. flame

Derived terms

• enflamer

Descendants

• ? English: flame
• French: flamme

Romanian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [?flame]

Noun

flame f

1. indefinite plural of flam?
2. indefinite genitive/dative singular of flam?

Walloon

Noun

flame f (plural flames)

1. flame

   Synonym: blame

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /flæm/

Etymology 1

17th century; from flim-flam, itself perhaps from a dialectal word or Scandinavian; compare Old Norse flim (“lampoon, mockery”).

Noun

flam (countable and uncountable, plural flams)

1. A freak or whim; an idle fancy.
2. (archaic) A falsehood; a lie; an illusory pretext

   Synonyms: deception, delusion

   • 1692, Robert South, "A Further Account of the Nature and Measures of Conscience", in Forty Eight Sermons and Discourses on Several Subjects and Occasions (published 1697)

     all Pretences, or Pleas of Conscience, to the contrary, are nothing but Cant and Cheat, Flam and Delusion.

   • a perpetual abuse and flam upon posterity

Translations

Verb

flam (third-person singular simple present flams, present participle flamming, simple past and past participle flammed)

1. (obsolete) To deceive with a falsehood.

   • God is not to be flammed off with Lyes.

Translations

Etymology 2

Imitative.

Noun

flam (plural flams)

1. (drumming) Two taps (a grace note followed by a full-volume tap) played very close together in order to sound like one slightly longer note.

Derived terms

• flam paradiddle, flamadiddle

Verb

flam (third-person singular simple present flams, present participle flamming, simple past and past participle flammed)

1. (drumming, transitive, intransitive) To play (notes as) a flam.
   • 1923, Edward B. Straight, The Straight System of Modern Drumming: The "Natural Way" to Play Drums, page 10:

     We will commence to flam the notes now, as most of them are flammed when you play a March.

   • 1975, George Shipway, Free Lance, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt P (?ISBN):

     Drums ruffled and flammed.

References

Anagrams

• FMLA

Catalan

Pronunciation

• (Balearic, Central, Valencian) IPA^(key): /?flam/

Noun

flam m (plural flams)

1. flan (custard dessert)

Further reading

• “flam” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “flam” in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana.
• “flam” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “flam” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

Volapük

Noun

flam (nominative plural flams)

1. flame

Declension