n.
Pronunciation: ' fl ā l
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English fleil, flail, partly from Old English *flegel (whence Old English fligel ), from Late Latin flagellum flail, from Latin, whip & partly from Anglo-French flael, from Late Latin flagellum ― more at FLAGELLATE
Date: before 12th century
: a hand threshing implement consisting of a wooden handle at the end of which a stouter and shorter stick is so hung as to swing freely