flake 1
— flakeless , adj. — flaker , n.
/flayk/ , n. , v. , flaked, flaking .
n.
1. a small, flat, thin piece, esp. one that has been or become detached from a larger piece or mass: flakes of old paint.
2. any small piece or mass: a flake of snow.
3. a stratum or layer.
4. Slang. an eccentric person; screwball.
5. Slang. cocaine.
6. a usually broad, often irregular piece of stone struck from a larger core and sometimes retouched to form a flake tool.
v.i.
7. to peel off or separate in flakes.
8. to fall in flakes, as snow.
v.t.
9. to remove in flakes.
10. to break flakes or chips from; break into flakes: to flake fish for a casserole.
11. to cover with or as if with flakes.
12. to form into flakes.
[ 1350-1400; (n.) ME; akin to OE flac- in flacox flying (said of arrows), ON flakka to rove, wander, MD vlacken to flutter; (in def. 4) by back formation from FLAKY, in sense "eccentric, odd"; (v.) late ME: to fall in flakes, deriv. of the n. ]
flake 2
/flayk/ , n.
a frame, as for drying fish.
[ 1300-50; ME flake, fleke flaki, fleki bridge, hurdle ]
flake 3
/flayk/ , n. , v. , flaked, flaking . Naut.
n.
1. fake 2 (defs. 1, 2).
v.t.
2. fake 2 (def. 3).
3. to lower (a fore-and-aft sail) so as to drape the sail equally on both sides over its boom.
[ 1620-30; appar. var. of FAKE 2 ]
flake 4
/flayk/ , v. , flaked, flaking. flake out , Slang.
to fall asleep; take a nap.
[ 1935-40; perh. expressive var. of FLAG 3 ; cf. Brit. dial. flack to hang loosely, flap ]