different between flan vs flak

English

Etymology 1

Borrowed around 1846 from French flan (“cheesecake, custard tart, flan”), or in some uses (in reference to Spanish/Latin American flans) later from Spanish flan (itself from the French), both from Old French flaon (whence also Middle English flaon, flaun (“pie; cake”)), from Late Latin fladonem, accusative of flad? (“flat cake”), from Frankish *flaþ? (“flat cake”), from Proto-Indo-European *pl?h?t- (“broad, flat”), from Proto-Indo-European *pelh?- (“to spread out, be broad, be flat”); compare German Fladen. Akin to Old High German flado (“flat cake, offering cake”). More at flathe.

Although the -n is generally believed to derive from the Late Latin accusative form (fladonem) of flad? (“flat cake”), it might alternatively derive from an inflected form of the Frankish word (such as the Frankish accusative *flaþan, or the like). For a similar case, see garden.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /flæn/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /fl?n/
• Rhymes: -æn, -??n

Noun

flan (plural flans)

1. (chiefly Britain, Australia) Baked tart with sweet or savoury filling in an open-topped pastry case. (Compare quiche.)
   • 2004, Shawn Blore, Alexandra de Vries, Frommer's Brazil ?ISBN, page 175:

     The menu includes a number of excellent fish dishes such as the […] broccoli flan.

2. (chiefly US, Belize) A dessert of congealed custard, often topped with caramel, especially popular in Spanish-speaking countries.

   Synonym: crème caramel

3. (numismatics) A coin die. (Compare planchet.)

Usage notes

• In the UK and Australia, flan usually refers to a baked tart (sense 1), and would only refer to a custard dessert (sense 2) rarely and in the context of the cuisine of Latin American or Mediterranean countries which use the word in that way. In the US, flan usually refers to the (Latin American-derived) custard dessert (sense 2), though uses of sense 1 can also be found.

Related terms

• flathe
• flathon
• flawn

Translations

See also

• custard

Etymology 2

English, from a slip of the tongue by actor Nathan Fillion.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /flæn/
• Rhymes: -æn

Noun

flan (plural flans)

1. (informal, fandom slang) A fan of the U.S. TV series Firefly.

   Synonym: Browncoat

   • For more quotations using this term, see Citations:flan.

References

• Nathan Fillion interview at an In Good Company premiere, 28 December 2004 (IESB.net video) (Wikiquote transcription)

French

Etymology

From Old French flaon, from Late Latin flad? (“flat cake”), from Frankish *flaþ? (“flat cake”), from Proto-Indo-European *pl?h?t- (“broad, flat”), from Proto-Indo-European *pelh?- (“to spread out, be broad, be flat”). Akin to Old High German flado (“flat cake, offering cake”) (German Fladen), Dutch vla (“baked custard”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fl??/

Noun

flan m (plural flans)

1. baked custard tart
2. coin die

Further reading

• “flan” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Middle English

Noun

flan

1. Alternative form of flon

Old English

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *flainaz (“hook, spear with a tip”), from Proto-Indo-European *pleyn- (“metal arrow, hook, spear-head”). Akin to Old Norse fleinn (“hook, barbed weapon, javelin, arrow”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fl??n/

Noun

fl?n m or f

1. arrow

Declension

(when masculine)

(when feminine)

Descendants

• Middle English: flon, ffloon, flone, flan
  • English: flone
  • Scots: flane, flain

Romanian

Etymology

From French flan.

Noun

flan n (plural flanuri)

1. baked custard tart

Declension

Spanish

Etymology

From French flan, from Old French flaon, from Late Latin flad? (“flat cake”), from Frankish *flaþ? (“flat cake”), from Proto-Indo-European *pl?h?t- (“broad, flat”), from Proto-Indo-European *pelh?- (“to spread out, be broad, be flat”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?flan/, [?flãn]

Noun

flan m (plural flanes)

1. flan, sweet pudding

Derived terms

• flancito (diminutive)

English

Alternative forms

• flack (adverse criticism and spokesperson senses)

Etymology

Borrowed from German FlaK, short for Fliegerabwehrkanone (“anti aeroplane cannon”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /flæk/
• Rhymes: -æk
• Homophone: flack

Noun

flak (countable and uncountable, plural flaks)

1. Ground-based anti-aircraft guns firing explosive shells. [from 1938]

   Synonyms: ack-ack, AAA, triple-A

   • 1964, David John Cawdell Irving, The Destruction of Dresden, page 74,

     […] to consider whether the city was in February 1945 an undefended city within the meaning of the 1907 Hague Convention, it will be necessary to examine the establishment and subsequent total dispersal of the city's flak batteries, before the date of the triple blow.

   • 2007, Samuel W. Mitcham, Jr., Retreat to the Reich: The German Defeat in France, 1944, footnote, page 30,

     He was promoted to general of flak artillery on March 1, 1945, and ended the war as the general of the flak arm at OKL, the High Command of the Luftwaffe.

2. Anti-aircraft shell fire. [from 1940]

   Synonym: ack-ack

   • 1943 November 29, Target: Germany, in Life, page 80,

     At 1057 we were just over the islands and at 1100 the tail gunner reported flak at six o'clock, below.

   • 1984, Steve Harris, "Aces High", Iron Maiden, Powerslave.

   • 1999, Brian O'Neill, Half a Wing, Three Engines and a Prayer, page 118,

     I could hear the fragments from the flak shells hitting the plane like someone throwing rocks at it.

3. (figuratively, informal) Adverse criticism. [from 1963]
   • 1990, Joel H. Spring, The American School, 1642-1990, page 380,

     This filter Herman and Chomsky call “flak,” which refers to letters, speeches, phone calls, and other forms of group and individual complaints. Advertisers and broadcasters avoid programming content that might cause large volumes of flak.
4. (informal) A public-relations spokesperson.
   • 2006, Edward Herman, Noam Chomsky, A Propaganda Model, in 2006 [2001], Meenakshi Gigi Durham, Douglas Kellner (editors), Media and Cultural Studies: Keyworks, revised edition, page 277,

     AIM head, Reed Irvine's diatribes are frequently published, and right-wing network flaks who regularly assail the “liberal media,” such as Michael Ledeen, are given Op-ed column space, sympathetic reviews, and a regular place on talk shows as experts.

Translations

See also

• flak jacket

Anagrams

• KLFA, falk

Albanian

Etymology

From Proto-Albanian *awa-laka, from Proto-Indo-European *lek- (“to jump, scuttle”) (compare Norwegian lakka (“to hop, patter about”), Latvian lèkt (“to spring, jump”), Ancient Greek ????? (l?ká?, “to dance to music”).

Verb

flak (first-person singular past tense flaka, participle flakur)

1. to throw, hurl, toss, fling off
2. to smack
3. (figuratively) to cast off, eject
4. (figuratively) to renounce, reject

Related terms

• fletë

References

Icelandic

Etymology

Borrowed through German flach (“flat”), ultimately from Proto-Germanic *flakaz.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fla?k/
• Rhymes: -a?k

Noun

flak n (genitive singular flaks, nominative plural flök)

1. wreck
2. filet, (UK) fillet (of fish)

Declension

Synonyms

• (wreck): rekald n
• (a fish fillet): flak af fiski n

Derived terms

• flaka

See also

• lundir (of beef etc.)

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

From Old Norse flaga, flak

Noun

flak n (definite singular flaket, indefinite plural flak, definite plural flaka or flakene)

1. a flake
2. floe (of ice)
3. tail (of a garment; coat tail, shirt tail)

Derived terms

• isflak

References

• “flak” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
• “flak_3” in Det Norske Akademis ordbok (NAOB).
• “flak_2” in Det Norske Akademis ordbok (NAOB).

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From Old Norse flaga, flak. Akin to English flake.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fl??k/

Noun

flak n (definite singular flaket, indefinite plural flak, definite plural flaka)

1. a flake
2. floe (of ice)
3. tail (of a garment; coat tail, shirt tail)

Derived terms

• isflak
• snøflak

References

• “flak” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Plautdietsch

Adjective

flak

1. shallow (not deep)

Polish

Etymology

From Middle High German vlëcke.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /flak/

Noun

flak m inan

1. sausage casing made from animal intestine
2. (informal) flat tire
3. (colloquial) innard, entrail

Declension

Related terms

• flaki

Further reading

• flak in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Swedish

Etymology

Borrowed through German flach (“flat”), ultimately from Proto-Germanic *flakaz.

Noun

flak n

1. a flat object, a floe, a flatbed
2. a bed, the (open) cargo area of a vehicle (e.g. truck, lorry, pickup truck, dump truck, tip truck)

Declension

Related terms

• flakbil
• flakcykel
• flakmoped
• isflak
• lastbilsflak
• tippflak

Anagrams

• falk