Flat - Flay

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Flat, n. 1. A level surface, without elevation, relief, or prominences; an extended plain; specifically, in the United States, a level tract along the along the banks of a river; as, the Mohawk Flats.
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Envy is as the sunbeams that beat hotter upon a bank, or steep rising ground, than upon a flat. Bacon.
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2. A level tract lying at little depth below the surface of water, or alternately covered and left bare by the tide; a shoal; a shallow; a strand.
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Half my power, this night
Passing these flats, are taken by the tide. Shak.
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3. Something broad and flat in form; as: (a) A flat-bottomed boat, without keel, and of small draught. (b) A straw hat, broad-brimmed and low-crowned. (c) (Railroad Mach.) A car without a roof, the body of which is a platform without sides; a platform car. (d) A platform on wheel, upon which emblematic designs, etc., are carried in processions.
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4. The flat part, or side, of anything; as, the broad side of a blade, as distinguished from its edge.
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5. (Arch.) A floor, loft, or story in a building; especially, a floor of a house, which forms a complete residence in itself; an apartment taking up a whole floor. In this latter sense, the usage is more common in British English.
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6. (Mining) A horizontal vein or ore deposit auxiliary to a main vein; also, any horizontal portion of a vein not elsewhere horizontal. Raymond.
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7. A dull fellow; a simpleton; a numskull. [Colloq.]
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Or if you can not make a speech,
Because you are a flat. Holmes.
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8. (Mus.) A character [♭] before a note, indicating a tone which is a half step or semitone lower.
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9. (Geom.) A homaloid space or extension.
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Flat (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Flatted (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Flatting (?).] 1. To make flat; to flatten; to level.
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2. To render dull, insipid, or spiritless; to depress.
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Passions are allayed, appetites are flatted. Barrow.
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3. To depress in tone, as a musical note; especially, to lower in pitch by half a tone.
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Flat, v. i. 1. To become flat, or flattened; to sink or fall to an even surface. Sir W. Temple.
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2. (Mus.) To fall form the pitch.
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Coloq. To flat out , to fail from a promising beginning; to make a bad ending; to disappoint expectations. [Colloq.]
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Flatbill (?), n. (Zoöl.) Any bird of the genus Flatyrynchus. They belong to the family of flycatchers.
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Flatboat (?), n. A boat with a flat bottom and square ends; -- used for the transportation of bulky freight, especially in shallow waters.
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flat-bottom flat-bottomed (?), a. Having an even lower surface or bottom; as, a flat-bottomed boat.
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Flat-cap (?), n. A kind of low-crowned cap formerly worn by all classes in England, and continued in London after disuse elsewhere; -- hence, a citizen of London. Marston.
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flatcar n. (Railroads) a railroad car without permanent sides or roof.
Syn. -- flat.
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Flatfish (?), n. (Zoöl.) Any fish of the family Pleuronectidæ; esp., the winter flounder (Pleuronectes Americanus). The flatfishes have the body flattened, swim on the side, and have eyes on one side, as the flounder, turbot, and halibut. See .
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flat foot, flatfoot (?). (Med.) A foot in which the arch of the instep is flattened so that the entire sole of the foot rests upon the ground; also, the deformity, usually congential, exhibited by such a foot; splayfoot.
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flatfoot n. a police officer, especially a foot patrolman. [slang]
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Flat-footed, a. 1. Having a flat foot, with little or no arch of the instep; suffering from fallen arches. [wns=3]
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2. Firm-footed; determined. [Slang, U.S.]
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3. clumsy; amateurish; pedestrian; unimaginative; plodding; as, flatfooted prose.
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4. Without reservation; without evasion or compromise; firm; as, a flat-footed refusal; a flatfooted denial. [wns=4]
Syn. -- downright, forthright, foursquare, head-on, straightforward.
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5. With feet flat on the ground; not tiptoe. [wns=1]
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6. Unprepared and unable to react quickly; as, the new product caught their competitors flat-footed. [wns=2]
Syn. -- unready.
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Coloq. To catch (one) flatfooted to catch (a person) unprepared; to catch (a person) by surprise.
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Flathead (?), a. Characterized by flatness of head, especially that produced by artificial means, as a certain tribe of American Indians.
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Flathead, n. (Ethnol.) A Chinook Indian. See , n., 1.
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Flat-headed (?), a. Having a head with a flattened top; as, a flat-headed nail.
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Flatiron (?), n. An iron with a flat, smooth surface for ironing clothes.
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Flative (?), a. [L. flare, flatum to blow.] Producing wind; flatulent. [Obs.] A. Brewer.
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Flatling (?), adv. [Flat, a. + adverbial suff. -ling.] With the flat side, as of a sword; flatlong; in a prostrate position. [Obs.] Spenser.
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Flatlong (?; 115), adv. With the flat side downward; not edgewise. Shak.
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Flatly, adv. 1. In a flat manner; evenly; horizontally; without spirit; dully; frigidly.
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He that does the works of religion slowly, flatly, and without appetite. Jer. Taylor.
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2. peremptorily; positively; plainly; forthrightly. “He flatly refused his aid.” Sir P. Sidney.
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flatmate n. someone who shares an apartment with a person.
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flatness, n. 1. The quality or state of being flat.
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2. Eveness of surface; want of relief or prominence; the state of being plane or level.
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3. Want of vivacity or spirit; prostration; dejection; depression.
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4. Want of variety or flavor; dullness; insipidity.
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5. Depression of tone; the state of being below the true pitch; -- opposed to sharpness or acuteness.
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Flatour (?), n. [OF.] A flatterer. [Obs.] Chaucer.
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flat-out adj. downright; plain; unqualified; as, a flat-out lie.
Syn. -- out-and-out, outright.
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Flatten (flătt'n), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Flattened (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Flattening.] [From , a.] 1. To reduce to an even surface or one approaching evenness; to make flat; to level; to make plane.
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2. To throw down; to bring to the ground; to prostrate; hence, to depress; to deject; to dispirit.
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3. To make vapid or insipid; to render stale.
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4. (Mus.) To lower the pitch of; to cause to sound less sharp; to let fall from the pitch.
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Coloq. To flatten a sail (Naut.), to set it more nearly fore-and-aft of the vessel. -- Coloq. Flattening oven , in glass making, a heated chamber in which split glass cylinders are flattened for window glass.
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Flatten, v. i. To become or grow flat, even, depressed, dull, vapid, spiritless, or depressed below pitch.
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flattened adj. 1. shaped like a thin sheet.
Syn. -- planate.
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2. (Biol) flattened laterally along the whole length e.g. certain leafstalks or flatfishes.
Syn. -- compressed, flat.
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Flatter (flăttẽr), n. 1. One who, or that which, makes flat or flattens.
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2. (Metal Working) (a) A flat-faced fulling hammer. (b) A drawplate with a narrow, rectangular orifice, for drawing flat strips, as watch springs, etc.
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Flatter (flăttẽr), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Flattered (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Flattering.] [OE. flateren, cf. OD. flatteren; akin to G. flattern to flutter, Icel. flaðra to fawn, flatter: cf. F. flatter. Cf. , , .] 1. To treat with praise or blandishments; to gratify or attempt to gratify the self-love or vanity of, esp. by artful and interested commendation or attentions; to blandish; to cajole; to wheedle.
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When I tell him he hates flatterers,
He says he does, being then most flattered. Shak.
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A man that flattereth his neighbor, spreadeth a net for his feet. Prov. xxix. 5.
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Others he flattered by asking their advice. Prescott.
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2. To raise hopes in; to encourage or favorable, but sometimes unfounded or deceitful, representations.
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3. To portray too favorably; to give a too favorable idea of; as, his portrait flatters him.
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Flatter, v. i. To use flattery or insincere praise.
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If it may stand him more in stead to lie,
Say and unsay, feign, flatter, or adjure. Milton.
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Flatterer (?), n. One who flatters.
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The most abject flaterers degenerate into the greatest tyrants. Addison.
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Flattering, a. That flatters (in the various senses of the verb); as, a flattering speech.
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Lay not that flattering unction to your soul. Shak.
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A flattering painter, who made it his care,
To draw men as they ought be, not as they are. Goldsmith.
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Flatteringly, adv. With flattery.
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Flattery (?), n.; pl. Flatteries (#). [OE. flaterie, OF. flaterie, F. flaterie, fr. flater to flatter, F. flatter; of uncertain origin. See , v. t.] The act or practice of flattering; the act of pleasing by artful commendation or compliments; adulation; false, insincere, or excessive praise.
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Just praise is only a debt, but flattery is a present. Rambler.
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Flattery corrupts both the receiver and the giver. Burke.

Syn. -- Adulation; compliment; obsequiousness. See .
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Flatting (?), n. 1. The process or operation of making flat, as a cylinder of glass by opening it out.
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2. A mode of painting,in which the paint, being mixed with turpentine, leaves the work without gloss. Gwilt.
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3. A method of preserving gilding unburnished, by touching with size. Knolles.
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4. The process of forming metal into sheets by passing it between rolls.
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Coloq. Flatting coat , a coat of paint so put on as to have no gloss. -- Coloq. Flatting furnace . Same as flattening oven, under . -- Coloq. Flatting mill . (a) A rolling mill producing sheet metal; esp., in mints, the mill producing the ribbon from which the planchets are punched. (b) A mill in which grains of metal are flatted by steel rolls, and reduced to metallic dust, used for purposes of ornamentation.
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Flattish (?), a. Somewhat flat. Woodward.

flat-top flat-topped adj. 1. having a flat or flattened upper surface.
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flattop n. (Mil.) An aircraft carrier.
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{ Flatulence (?), Flatulency (?) }, n. [Cf. F. flatulence.] The state or quality of being flatulent.
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Flatulent (?), a. [L. flatus a blowing, flatus ventris windiness, flatulence, fr. flare to blow: cf. F. flatulent. See .] 1. Affected with flatus{2} or gases generated in the alimentary canal; windy.
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2. Generating, or tending to generate, wind in the stomach.
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Vegetables abound more with aërial particles than animal substances, and therefore are more flatulent. Arbuthnot.
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3. Turgid with flatus; as, a flatulent tumor. Quincy.
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4. Pretentious without substance or reality; puffy; empty; vain; as, a flatulent vanity.
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He is too flatulent sometimes, and sometimes too dry. Dryden.
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Flatulently, adv. In a flatulent manner; with flatulence.
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Flatuosity (?), n. [Cf. F. flatuosité.] Flatulence. [Obs.] Bacon.
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Flatuous (?), a. [Cf. F. flatueux.] Windy; generating wind. [Obs.] Bacon.
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Flatus (?), n.; pl. E. Flatuses (#), L. Flatus. [L., fr. flare to blow.] 1. A breath; a puff of wind. Clarke.
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2. Gas generated in the stomach, intestine, or other cavities of the body. Quincy.
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flatware n. eating utensils such as knives, forks, and spoons, considered collectively.
Syn. -- silver.
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Flatwise (?), a. or adv. With the flat side downward, or next to another object; not edgewise.
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flatwork n. Ironing that can be done mechanically.
Syn. -- flat wash.
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Flatworm (?), n. (Zoöl.) Any worm belonging to the Platyhelminthes; also, sometimes applied to the planarians.
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Flaundrish (? or ?), a. Flemish. [Obs.]
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Flaunt (flänt or fl�nt; 277), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Flaunted; p. pr. & vb. n.. Flaunting.] [Cf. dial. G. flandern to flutter, wave; perh. akin to E. flatter, flutter.] To throw or spread out; to flutter; to move ostentatiously; as, a flaunting show.
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You flaunt about the streets in your new gilt chariot. Arbuthnot.
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One flaunts in rags, one flutters in brocade. Pope.
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Flaunt, v. t. To display ostentatiously; to make an impudent show of. “If you've got it, flaunt it.”
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Flaunt, n. Anything displayed for show. [Obs.]
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In these my borrowed flaunts. Shak.
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Flauntingly, adv. In a flaunting way.
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Flautist (?), n. [It. flauto a flute See .] A player on the flute; a flutist.
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Flauto (flout�), n. [It.] A flute.
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Coloq. Flauto piccolo (�) [It., little flute], an octave flute. -- Coloq. Flauto traverso (�) [It., transverse flute], the German flute, held laterally, instead of being played, like the old flûte à bec, with a mouth piece at the end.
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Flavaniline (? or ?; 104), n. [L. flavus yellow + E. aniline.] (Chem.) A yellow, crystalline, organic dyestuff, C16H14N2, of artifical production. It is a strong base, and is a complex derivative of aniline and quinoline.
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Flavescent (?), a. [L. flavescens, p. pr. of flavescere to turn yellow.] Turning yellow; yellowish.
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Flavicomous (?), a. [L. flavicomus; flavus yellow + coma hair.] Having yellow hair. [R.]
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Flavin (?), n. [L. flavus yellow.] (Chem.) A yellow, vegetable dyestuff, resembling quercitron.
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Flavine (?; 104), n. (Chem.) A yellow, crystalline, organic base, C13H12N2O, obtained artificially.
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Flavol (?), n. [L. flavus yellow + -oil.] (Chem.) A yellow, crystalline substance, obtained from anthraquinone, and regarded as a hydroxyl derivative of it.
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Flavor (?), n. [OF. fleur, flaur (two syllables), odor, cf. F. fleurer to emit an odor, It. flatore a bad odor, prob. fr. L. flare to bow, whence the sense of exhalation. Cf. .] [Written also flavour.] 1. That quality of anything which affects the smell; odor; fragrances; as, the flavor of a rose.
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2. That quality of anything which affects the taste; that quality which gratifies the palate; relish; zest; savor; as, the flavor of food or drink.
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3. That which imparts to anything a peculiar odor or taste, gratifying to the sense of smell, or the nicer perceptions of the palate; a substance which flavors.
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4. That quality which gives character to any of the productions of literature or the fine arts.
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Flavor, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Flavored (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Flavoring.] To give flavor to; to add something (as salt or a spice) to, to give character or zest.
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Flavored (?), a. Having a distinct flavor; as, high-flavored wine.
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flavorful adj. tasteful; having a good taste; -- of food. tasteless
Syn. -- flavourful, flavorous, flavourous, flavorsome, flavoursome, sapid, saporous.
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flavoring n. something added to food primarily for the savor it imparts.
Syn. -- flavorer, flavourer, flavouring, seasoner, seasoning.
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flavorless (?), a. Without flavor; tasteless. Opposite of flavorful.
Syn. -- bland, flat, flavourless, insipid, savorless.
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Flavorous (?), a. Imparting flavor; pleasant to the taste or smell; sapid. Dryden.
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flavour v. t. same as , v. and n.. [Chiefly Brit.]
Syn. -- season, flavor, give flavor.
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flavoured adj. same as ; -- of foods. [Chiefly Brit.]
Syn. -- flavored, seasoned.
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flavourer n. same as . [Chiefly Brit.]
Syn. -- flavorer, flavoring, flavouring, seasoner, seasoning.
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flavourful adj. same as . [Chiefly Brit.]
Syn. -- flavorful, flavorous, flavourous, flavorsome, flavoursome, sapid, saporous.
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flavouring n. same as . [Chiefly Brit.]
Syn. -- flavorer, flavourer, flavoring, seasoner, seasoning.
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flavourless adj. same as . [Chiefly Brit.]
Syn. -- bland, flat, flavorless, insipid, savorless.
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flavourous adj. same as . [Chiefly Brit.]
Syn. -- flavorful, flavourful, flavorous, flavorsome, flavoursome, sapid, saporous.
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flavoursome adj. same as . [Chiefly Brit.]
Syn. -- flavorful, flavourful, flavorous, flavourous, flavorsome, sapid, saporous.
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Flavous (?), a. [L. flavus.] Yellow. [Obs.]
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Flaw (fl�), n. [OE. flai, flaw flake; cf. Sw. flaga flaw, crack, breach, flake, D. vlaag gust of wind, Norw. flage, flaag, and E. flag a flat stone.] 1. A crack or breach; a gap or fissure; a defect of continuity or cohesion; as, a flaw in a knife or a vase.
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This heart
Shall break into a hundered thousand flaws. Shak.
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2. A defect; a fault; as, a flaw in reputation; a flaw in a will, in a deed, or in a statute.
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Has not this also its flaws and its dark side? South.
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3. A sudden burst of noise and disorder; a tumult; uproar; a quarrel. [Obs.]
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And deluges of armies from the town
Came pouring in; I heard the mighty flaw. Dryden.
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4. A sudden burst or gust of wind of short duration.
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Snow, and hail, and stormy gust and flaw. Milton.
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Like flaws in summer laying lusty corn. Tennyson.

Syn. -- Blemish; fault; imperfection; spot; speck.
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Flaw, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Flawed (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Flawing.] 1. To crack; to make flaws in.
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The brazen caldrons with the frosts are flawed. Dryden.
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2. To break; to violate; to make of no effect. [Obs.]
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France hath flawed the league. Shak.
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flawed (fl�d), a. having flaws or imperfections; not perfect; -- applied broadly; as, a flawed vase; a flawed performance; a flawed character.
Syn. -- blemished.
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Flawless, a. Free from flaws. Boyle.
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Flawn (fl�n), n. [OF. flaon, F. flan, LL. flado, fr. OHG. flado, G. fladen, a sort of pancake; cf. Gr. � broad. See .] A sort of flat custard or pie. [Obs.] Tusser.
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Flawter (?), v. t. [Cf. .] To scrape or pare, as a skin. [Obs.] Johnson.
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Flawy (?), a. 1. Full of flaws or cracks; broken; defective; faulty. Johnson.
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2. Subject to sudden flaws or gusts of wind.
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Flax (flăks), n. [AS. fleax; akin to D. vlas, OHG. flahs, G. flachs, and prob. to flechten to braid, plait,m twist, L. plectere to weave, plicare to fold, Gr. � to weave, plait. See .] 1. (Bot.) A plant of the genus Linum, esp. the L. usitatissimum, which has a single, slender stalk, about a foot and a half high, with blue flowers. The fiber of the bark is used for making thread and cloth, called linen, cambric, lawn, lace, etc. Linseed oil is expressed from the seed.
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2. The skin or fibrous part of the flax plant, when broken and cleaned by hatcheling or combing.
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Coloq. Earth flax (Min.), amianthus. -- Coloq. Flax brake , a machine for removing the woody portion of flax from the fibrous. -- Coloq. Flax comb , a hatchel, hackle, or heckle. -- Coloq. Flax cotton , the fiber of flax, reduced by steeping in bicarbonate of soda and acidulated liquids, and prepared for bleaching and spinning like cotton. Knight. -- Coloq. Flax dresser , one who breaks and swingles flax, or prepares it for the spinner. -- Coloq. Flax mill , a mill or factory where flax is spun or linen manufactured. -- Coloq. Flax puller , a machine for pulling flax plants in the field. -- Coloq. Flax wench . (a) A woman who spins flax. [Obs.] (b) A prostitute. [Obs.] Shak. -- Coloq. Mountain flax (Min.), amianthus. -- Coloq. New Zealand flax (Bot.) See .
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Flaxen (?), a. Made of flax; resembling flax or its fibers; of the color of flax; of a light soft straw color; fair and flowing, like flax or tow; as, flaxen thread; flaxen hair.
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Flax-plant (?), n. (Bot.) A plant in new Zealand (Phormium tenax), allied to the lilies and aloes. The leaves are two inches wide and several feet long, and furnish a fiber which is used for making ropes, mats, and coarse cloth.
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Flaxseed (?), n. The seed of the flax; linseed.
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Flaxweed (?), n. (Bot.) See .
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Flaxy (?), a. Like flax; flaxen. Sir M. Sandys.
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Flay (flā), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Flayed (flād); p. pr. & vb. n. Flaying.] [OE. flean, flan, AS. fleán; akin to D. vlaen, Icel. flā, Sw. flå, Dan. flaae, cf. Lith. pleszti to tear, plyszti, v.i., to burst, tear; perh. akin to E. flag a flat stone, flaw.] To skin; to strip off the skin or surface of; as, to flay an ox; to flay the green earth.
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With her nails
She 'll flay thy wolfish visage. Shak.
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