flaw

nounverbnounattested in dialogue

United Kingdom//flɔː//
United States//flɔ//
United States//flɑ//
Australia//floː//
Scotland//flɔ//
//ˈflɔː//

A crack or breach, a gap or fissure; a defect of continuity or cohesion.

noun

1
obsoleteA flake, fragment, or shiver.
2
obsoleteA thin cake, as of ice.
3
A crack or breach, a gap or fissure; a defect of continuity or cohesion.
There is a flaw in that knife.
That vase has a flaw.
This heart / Shall break into a hundred thousand flaws.
4
A defect, fault, or imperfection, especially one that is hidden.
Has not this also its flaws and its dark side?
5
A defect, fault, or imperfection, especially one that is hidden. An inclusion, stain, or other defect of a diamond or other gemstone.
6
A defect, fault, or imperfection, especially one that is hidden. A defect or error in a contract or other document which may make the document invalid or ineffective.
a flaw in a will, in a deed, or in a statute

Etymology

From Middle English flawe, flay (“a flake of fire or snow, spark, splinter”), probably from Old Norse flaga (“a flag or slab of stone, flake”), from Proto-Germanic *flagō (“a layer of soil”), from Proto-Indo-European *plok- (“broad, flat”). Cognate with Icelandic flaga (“flake”), Swedish flaga (“flake, scale”), Danish flage (“flake”), Middle Low German vlage (“a layer of soil”), Old English flōh (“a fragment, piece”).

verb

1
To add a flaw to, to make imperfect or defective.
2
To become imperfect or defective; to crack or break.

noun

1
A sudden burst or gust of wind of short duration; windflaw.
And snow and haile and stormie gust and flaw
Yniol with that hard message went; it fell, / Like flaws in summer laying lusty corn: […]
2
A storm of short duration.
3
A sudden burst of noise and disorder
And deluges of armies from the town / Come pouring in; I heard the mighty flaw.

Etymology

From Middle English *flaugh, from Middle Dutch vlāghe or Middle Low German vlāge, ultimately from Proto-West Germanic *flagā. Or, possibly of North Germanic origin, from Swedish flaga (“gust of wind”), from Old Norse flaga; all from Proto-Germanic *flagǭ (“blow, strike”). See modern Dutch vlaag (“gust of wind”).

Forms

plural: flaws
past tense: flawed
past participle: flawed
present participle: flawing
third person singular: flaws

Flattery · A surname from Irish.flavor · The quality produced by the sensation of taste or,…flavour · British standard spelling of flavor.

flaw · A crack or breach, a gap or fissure; a defect of continuity or cohesion.

flawed · Having a flaw or imperfection.flawless · Without flaws, defects, or shortcomings; perfect.flea · A small, wingless, parasitic insect of the order…

The neighbouring pages — Alphabetical order follows the rules of the language, not byte values: an accent decides only between two otherwise identical words, and Spanish files Ñ as a letter of its own.