flash

Pronunciation

• IPA: /flæʃ/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English flasken, flashen, probably imitative, like splash and dash.^[2][3][4][5] Some extended senses may be from Scandinavian cognates.^[2] The link with fire may have come from its resemblance to flame.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

To splash or sprinkle water, to gush forth: about 1200 in Etymonline, probably before 1200 in Barnhart.^[2][3]

Semantic evolution

Of fire, to burst into flames, is from about 1400, and to give off a sudden short light is recorded only from 1548.^[3][2] The noun, a sudden burst of flame or light, originally of lightning, is from 1566.^[7][2][3] A very short time, in a flash, is from the 1620s.^[2] Superficial brilliance is from the 1670s, and the adjective “showy, flashy” from the 17th century.^[2][4][6] A brief news report is from 1857,^[2][7] and a photographic lamp from 1913.^[2][7] The sense “to expose the genitals” is by 1846.^[2] Flash card is from 1923, and flash flood from 1940.^[2]

Timeline

• c. 1200 – to splash.^[2]
• 1548 – to give off a sudden light.^[3]
• 1566 – noun, a burst of flame.^[7][3]
• 1620s – an instant.^[2]
• 1846 – to expose oneself.^[2]
• 1857 – a news report.^[2][7]
• 1913 – a photographic lamp.^[2][7]

Modern meaning

Verb

1. To shine brightly for a moment, or to make a light do this.
2. To appear or move very quickly.
3. To show something briefly: flashed his badge.
4. To send news quickly by radio or telegraph.
5. (informal) To show one's genitals in public.

Noun

1. A sudden brief burst of light.
2. A sudden brief experience: a flash of inspiration.
3. A very short time.
4. A device on a camera that gives a bright light.
5. A showy display: a flash of her diamonds.

Word family

• flashingly
• unflashing
• outflash
• flashback
• flasher
• flashing
• flashlight
• flashover

Related words

• flush
• flashy
• splash
• dash

Usage notes

A different flash, a pool or marshy place, is recorded from about 1400 and survives locally; it may be from Old French flache.^[2][7][8]

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d e f Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ a b c d e f g Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)