Etymologically
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flesh

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 16 October 2026 at 12:39. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /flɛʃ/[1]

Etymology

It is Middle English flesch, inherited from Old English flǣsc (“flesh, meat; the body; living creatures”),[2][3][4] from Proto-Germanic *flaiska- (“flesh”),[3][5] source also of Old Saxon flēsk, Dutch vlees, German Fleisch and Old Norse flesk (“pork, bacon”).[3][2][5] Its origin is uncertain;[3] Watkins derives it from PIE Proto-Indo-European *pleik- (“to tear”), as a piece torn off,[3] and Hoad relates it to flitch, with an original meaning “slice”.[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The soft, muscular parts of an animal body: about 1000 in the OED.[6] Old English also used it for the body as opposed to the soul and for near kindred.[3]

Semantic evolution

The kindred sense survives in flesh and blood.[3][7] Proud flesh, overgrowth in a healing wound, is from 1578,[6] and to make one's flesh creep from 1727.[6] The verb, to reward a hunting animal with flesh from the kill and so make it eager, is from the 1520s;[3] to embody or fill out, now flesh out, is from the 1660s.[3] To go the way of all flesh, to die, comes from the Bible.[7]

Timeline

  • c. 1000 – flesh of the body.[6]
  • 1520s – to whet a hunting animal.[3]
  • 1578 – proud flesh.[6]
  • 1660s – to clothe with flesh.[3]
  • 1727 – make one's flesh creep.[6]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. The soft tissue of the body, mainly muscle and fat, covering the bones.
  2. The skin or surface of the body.
  3. The meat of animals as food.
  4. The soft, edible part of a fruit or vegetable; pulp.
  5. The physical body as opposed to the mind or soul; bodily desires.
  6. Mankind; living creatures.
  7. A pinkish-white colour.

Verb

  1. (flesh out) To give more substance or detail to.
  2. To scrape flesh from a hide.

Word family

  • fleshless
  • fleshly
  • fleshy
  • flitch
  • flay

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ a b c Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press