English word origin

Etymology of flay

From Middle English flayen, flaien, fleien, from Old English flīeġan ("to cause to fly, put to flight, frighten"), from Proto-Germanic *flaugijaną (“to let fly, cause to fly”), causative of Proto-Germanic *fleuganą (“to

2 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗

In this entry · 2 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗

verb

To cause to fly; put to flight; drive off (by frightening). · To frighten; scare; terrify. · To be fear-stricken.

noun

A fright; a scare. · Fear; a source of fear; a formidable matter; a fearsome or repellent-looking person.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inherited-form mentionflayenenm
Inherited-form mentionflīeġanang
Inherited-form mention*flaugijanągem-pro
Derivation mention*fleuganągem-pro

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "flayen"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English flayen"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "flīeġan"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English flīeġan"
    },
    {
      "name": "gloss",
      "args": {
        "1": "\"to cause to fly, put to flight, frighten\""
      },
      "expansion": "(\"to cause to fly, put to flight, frighten\")"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*flaugijaną",
        "4": "",
        "5": "to let fly, cause to fly"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *flaugijaną (“to let fly, cause to fly”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*fleuganą",
        "4": "",
        "5": "to fly"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *fleuganą (“to fly”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "flayen",
      "flayen#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "flaien",
      "flaien#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "fleien",
      "fleien#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "flīeġan",
      "fliegan#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "*flaugijaną",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/flaugijaną"
    ],
    [
      "*fleuganą",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/fleuganą"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "To cause to fly; put to flight; drive off (by frightening).",
        "To frighten; scare; terrify.",
        "To be fear-stricken."
      ],
      "tags": [
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        "Scotland",
        "UK",
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    },
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      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A fright; a scare.",
        "Fear; a source of fear; a formidable matter; a fearsome or repellent-looking person."
      ],
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        "Northern-England",
        "Scotland",
        "UK",
        "dialectal"
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Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗

verb

To strip the skin off; to skin. · To lash or whip.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Middle English flen, from Old English flēan, from Proto-West Germanic *flahan, from Proto-Germanic *flahaną.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inherited-form mentionflenenm
Inherited-form mentionflēanang
Inherited-form mention*flahangmw-pro
Inherited-form mention*flahanągem-pro

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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      },
      "expansion": "Middle English flen"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "flēan"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English flēan"
    },
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      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gmw-pro",
        "3": "*flahan"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-West Germanic *flahan"
    },
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      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
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        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*flahaną"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *flahaną"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "flen",
      "flen#Middle_English"
    ],
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      "flēan",
      "flean#Old_English"
    ],
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      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/flahan"
    ],
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      "*flahaną",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/flahaną"
    ]
  ],
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  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
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      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "To strip the skin off; to skin.",
        "To lash or whip."
      ],
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Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for flay →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger

Machine-source provenance

Source SHA-256: 5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run: 73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID: w-ZmxheQ