Page:An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language.djvu/112

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in Fr. flou, OFr. flau, floi; the latter is of Teut. origin (see lau), so that ModHG. flau is finally derived from a pre-Teut. hléwa-. Comp. Flanke.

Flaum, m. (Up.G. Pflaum also), ‘down,’ from MidHG. phlûme, f., OHG. pflûma, ‘down,’ from Lat. plûma, whence also AS. plûmfëþere. As the shifting of the initial sound proves, however, the word must have been borrowed in the earlier OHG. period; comp. the OIr. word (also derived from the Lat.) clúm, ‘feather’ (OW. plumauc, ‘pillow’). Scand. and E. have for Flaum an apparently genuine Teut. word (see Daune. It is certainly recorded by Pliny that Teut. tribes in the olden time sent flocks of geese to Rome; but perhaps it was only ‘down’ (see also Flocke), which was valuable to the Southerners, and so the Lat. pluma may hare been introduced into Teut. at an early period. The initial f of the ModHG. form for pf may be due to the connection with Feder.

Flaus, m., orig. ‘a tuft of wool,’ then ‘a woollen coat, pilot cloth,’ from MidHG. vlûs, ‘fleece, sheepskin,’ a variant of MidHG. vlies. See Flies.

Flause, f., ‘trick, pretence,’ simply ModHG; MidHG. *vlûse does not occur; it is probably connected with OHG. giflôs, n. ‘whispering,’ giflôsida, f., ‘illusion,’ flôsâri, ‘liar.’

Flechse, f., ‘sinew, tendon,’ only ModHG., from Lat. flexus.

Flechte, f., ‘plait, braid (of hair), wattle, lichen,’ from late MidHG. vlëhte, t., ‘plait, lock of hair,’ allied to the following word.

flechten, vb., ‘to plait, braid, wreathe,’ from the equiv. MidHG. vlëhten, OHG. vlëhtan; a corresponding Goth. *flaíhtan, akin to flahta, f., ‘lock of hair,’ is wanting; OIc. flétta for flehtan. Teut. root fleht, from pre-Teut. plekt; the t, as also in Lat. plecto compared with plicare, was orig. only a formative element of the present tense, for according to Gr. πλέκω, πλοκή, πλόκος, the Aryan root must have been plek; comp. Sans. praçna, ‘braid, basket.’ Falten (root falþ) and flechten (root fleh) are entirely unrelated.

Fleck, Flecken, m., n., with many senses which are historically the same, ‘spot, stain, patch,’ from MidHG. vlëc, vlëcke, m., ‘piece of stuff, patch, rag, piece of land, place, spot, differently coloured spot, stain, blemish,’ OHG. flëc, flëccho; Du. vlek, f., ‘spot of dirt,’ vlek, n., ‘village’; Goth.

*flikka- or *flikkan- (or rather *þl-) is wanting; comp. OIc. flekkr (gen. plur. flekkja), m., ‘a fleck, spot, stain,’ as well as flík, f., ‘rag, piece of stuff.’ Its connection with Scand. flikke, AS. flicce, E. flitch, is dubious. See flicken.

Fledermaus, f., ‘bat,’ from the equiv. MidHG. vlëdermûs, OHG. flëdarmûs, f.; corresponds to Du. vledermuis; E. flittermouse does not occur in AS., and may be due to the influence of MidEurop. Teutonic. That the animal was thought to be a mouse is shown by AS. hreape-, hrêremûs; the E. term bat, MidE. backe, Dan. aftenbakke (aften, ‘evening’), is unique. Fledermaus, lit. ‘fluttering mouse,’ from OHG. flëdarôn, MidHG. vlëdern, ‘to flutter.’

Flederwisch, m., first occurs in early ModHG. with a reference to flëdern, ‘to flutter.’ In MidHG. once vëderwisch, Du. vederwisch; prop. ‘a goosewing for dusting,’ or rather Flederwisch, ‘whisk for fanning away.’

Flegel, m. (Suab. Pflegel), ‘flail, churl,’ from MidHG. vlęgel, OHG. flęgil, m., ‘flail’; comp. Du. vlegel, E. flail; probably from MidLat. flagellum, ‘quo frumentum teritur’ (whence also Fr. fleau, ‘flail’). On account of its meaning it cannot be connected with the Teut. root flah, ‘to flay’ (OIc. flá, ‘to flay’). Yet it may be primit. allied to Lith. plakù, plàkti, ‘to strike,’ Lat. plango, Gr. πλήγνυμι, ‘to strike.’

flehen, vb., ‘to implore, supplicate,’ from MidHG. vlêhen, OHG. flêhan, flêhôn, ‘to implore,’ OHG. also ‘to fondle, flatter’; initial fl for earlier þl, as in fliehen (Goth. þliuhan); comp. Goth. gaþláihan (ai a genuine diphthong), ‘to fondle, embrace, console, exhort in a friendly way,’ akin to Goth. gaþláihts, f., ‘comfort, warning.’ Also allied to OIc. flár, ‘false, cunning,’ AS. flâh. ‘wily, cunning,’ both pointing to Goth. *þlaiha-. The primary meaning of the root flaih was perhaps ‘importunate, insinuating speech.’

Fleisch, n., ‘flesh, meat, pulp (of fruit),’ from the equiv. MidHG. vleisch, OHG. fleisk, n.; it has the same meaning in West Teut. and Scand. Strange to say, a Goth. *flaisk, *flaiskis, n. (or þl- comp. fliehen), is not recorded, the term used being leik or mims, n. Comp. Du. vleesch, AS. flœ̂sc, E. flesh; OIc. flesk is used only of ‘pork,’ and more especially of ‘ham’ and ‘bacon,’ while kjǫt was the common Scand. word for ‘meat.’ It may well be imagined