I. ˈflāl 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
II. verb
Date: 15th century
transitive verb
1.
a. : to strike with or as if with a flail
arms flail ing the water
b. : to move, swing, or beat as if wielding a flail
flail ing a club to drive away the insects
2. : to thresh (grain) with a flail
intransitive verb
: to move, swing, or beat like a flail