I. ˈflāl, esp before pause or consonant -āəl noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English fleil, flail flail, whip, partly from (assumed) Old English flegel flail (whence Old English fligel ) & partly from Middle French flaiel, flael flail, whip; (assumed) Old English flegel akin to Old High German flegil flail; both from a prehistoric West Germanic word borrowed from Late Latin flagellum flail, from Latin flagellum whip; Middle French flaiel, flael from Late Latin flagellum flail & Latin flagellum whip — more at flagellate
1. : an instrument for threshing grain from the ear by hand consisting of a wooden handle at the end of which a stouter and shorter stick is so hung as to swing freely — see swiple
2.
a. : a primitive weapon (as a morning star) that resembles the agricultural flail in basic structure
b. : any of certain devices used to detonate mines ; sometimes : a vehicle (as a tank) by which such a flail is propelled
3. obsolete : a swinging part (as a gate bar or a lever of a press)
II. verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English flailen, from fleil, flail, n.
transitive verb
1. : scourge , whip ; sometimes : to drive by beating
flailed the pig back to his sty
2.
a. : to strike with or as if with a flail
flailing his opponent about the head and shoulders
startled wings flailed the water
b. : to move, swing, or beat as though wielding a flail
flailed his arms in front of his face to drive away the insects
3. : to thresh (grain) with a flail
intransitive verb
1. : to engage or participate in flailing
propellers flailing futilely
they flailed away at each other
2. : to progress erratically as though along a path through which a flail moves in beating grain
flailed up the slope with a rush
flailed around for several months trying to decide to get a job
III. adjective
: exhibiting abnormal mobility and loss of response to normal controls — used of body parts (as joints) damaged by paralysis, accident, or surgery
flail foot
the arm remained flail at the shoulder