Part 191

4. A sudden burst or gust of wind of short duration.

Snow, and hail, and stormy gust and flaw.

Milton.

Like flaws in summer laying lusty corn.

Tennyson.

Syn. -- Blemish; fault; imperfection; spot; speck.

Flaw, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Flawed (fld); p. pr. & vb. n. Flawing.] 1. To crack; to make flaws in.

The brazen caldrons with the frosts are flawed.

Dryden.

2. To break; to violate; to make of no effect. [Obs.]

France hath flawed the league.

Shak.

Flaw"less, a. Free from flaws. Boyle.

Flawn (fln), n. [OF. flaon, F. flan, LL. flado, fr. OHG. flado, G. fladen, a sort of pancake; cf. Gr. &?; broad. See Place.] A sort of flat custard or pie. [Obs.] Tusser.

Flaw"ter (?), v. t. [Cf. Flay.] To scrape or pare, as a skin. [Obs.] Johnson.

Flaw"y (?), a. 1. Full of flaws or cracks; broken; defective; faulty. Johnson.

2. Subject to sudden flaws or gusts of wind.

Flax (flks), 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 Ply.] 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.

2. The skin or fibrous part of the flax plant, when broken and cleaned by hatcheling or combing.

Earth flax (Min.), amianthus. -- Flax brake, a machine for removing the woody portion of flax from the fibrous. -- Flax comb, a hatchel, hackle, or heckle. -- 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. -- Flax dresser, one who breaks and swingles flax, or prepares it for the spinner. -- Flax mill, a mill or factory where flax is spun or linen manufactured. -- Flax puller, a machine for pulling flax plants in the field. -- Flax wench. (a) A woman who spins flax. [Obs.] (b) A prostitute. [Obs.] Shak. -- Mountain flax (Min.), amianthus. -- New Zealand flax (Bot.) See Flax- plant.

Flax"en (?), 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.

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.

Flax"seed` (?), n. The seed of the flax; linseed.

Flax"weed` (?), n. (Bot.) See Toadflax.

Flax"y (?), a. Like flax; flaxen. Sir M. Sandys.

Flay (fl), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Flayed (fld); p. pr. & vb. n. Flaying.] [OE. flean, flan, AS. fle·n; akin to D. vlaen, Icel. fl, Sw. flÂ, 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.

With her nails She 'll flay thy wolfish visage.

Shak.