flail Hear it!

flail definition

flail (flāl)

noun

a farm tool consisting of a free-swinging stick tied to the end of a long handle, used to thresh grain

Etymology: ME fleil < OFr flaiel & OE *flegel, both < L flagellum, a whip, scourge: see flagellate

transitive verb, intransitive verb

  1. to thresh with a flail
  2. to strike or beat as with a flail
  3. to move (one's arms) about like flails

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Comments
Improve this definition.
Do you have more to add? Share your linguistic knowledge or observation.
/Register to save your comments.