flaw

Definition

A flake, fragment, or shiver.

Etymology

From Middle English flawe, flay (“a flake of fire or snow, spark, splinter”), probably from Old Norse flaga (“a flag or slab of stone, flake”), from Proto-Germanic *flagō (“a layer of soil”), from Proto-Indo-European *plok- (“broad, flat”). Cognate with Icelandic flaga (“flake”), Swedish flaga (“flake, scale”), Danish flage (“flake”), Middle Low German vlage (“a layer of soil”), Old English flōh (“a fragment, piece”).

Example Sentences

• "There is a flaw in that knife."
• "That vase has a flaw."
• "This heart / Shall break into a hundred thousand flaws."