Etymograph

English

flay

Flay comes from Middle English flayen ‘to put to flight’, from Proto-Germanic *flaugijaną ‘to let fly, cause to fly’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *plew- ‘flow’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*plew-1‘flow’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*plewk-1‘to fly, flow, run’reconstructedenlargement of *plew-
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*fleuganą2‘to fly’reconstructed
  4. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*flaugijaną2‘to let fly, cause to fly’reconstructedcausative of *fleuganą
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150flīeġan2‘to put to flight, disperse’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500flayen2‘to put to flight’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1979flay2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *fleuganą
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English flay
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1979, The Trial: “If they'd let me have my way, I could…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*plew-Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *fleuganą‘flow’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*plewk-Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *fleuganą‘to fly, flow, run’reconstructedenlargement of *plew-
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*fleuganąWiktionary, English flay‘to fly’reconstructed
  4. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*flaugijanąWiktionary, English flay‘to let fly, cause to fly’reconstructedcausative of *fleuganą
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150flīeġanWiktionary, English flay‘to put to flight, disperse’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500flayenWiktionary, English flay‘to put to flight’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1979flayWiktionary, English flay. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1979, The Trial: “If they'd let me have my way, I could…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *plew- ‘flow’

flow, pneumonia, plutonium, plough, plover, flue, plutocracy, 24 more

through Proto-Indo-European *plewk- ‘to fly, flow, run’

fowler, flee, flock, floss, fogle, 9 more

through Proto-Germanic *fleuganą ‘to fly’

flight, fly, flew, flown, fowl, 4 more

Another origin of flay

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pleh₂-‘flat, broad, plain’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*pləksreconstructed
  3. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEπλάξpláx‘plane, plain, something flat’
  4. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*flahaną‘to skin, to flay’reconstructed
  5. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*flahan‘to skin, flay’reconstructed
  6. Old Englishc. 450–1150flēan‘to flay, pull the skin off, skin’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500flen
  8. Englishtodayflay

Today it means

verb To cause to fly; put to flight; drive off (by frightening).

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “flay”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Proto-Germanic *fleuganą. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *plew- / flay

Shirt and support for this word