fling

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English flingen, also flengen,^[2][3][4] probably of Scandinavian origin.^[5][4][6][3] Most dictionaries relate it to Old Norse flengja (“to flog”),^{[7][8][9][10][6]} with Swedish flänga (“to romp, race”) and Danish flænge (“to slash”).^[8][3][11] The OED notes that the English verb is recorded only as a strong verb, so it is hard to take it from the Scandinavian weak verb; it may represent a prehistoric Old Norse *flinga, of which flengja would be a derivative.^[8][12] Etymonline traces flengja perhaps to Proto-Germanic *flang-, from a nasalized form of Proto-Indo-European *plak- (“to strike”),^[7] and Merriam-Webster relates it to Old Norse flá (“to flay”).^[4][6] The Middle English past tense was flang, modelled on verbs like stingen.^[2][7] The noun is from the verb.^[8][4][9]

Earliest recorded meaning

To dash, rush, go violently: 1300, in Kyng Alisaunder,^[8][6] where the word is also used of a weapon driven swiftly forth.^[8][6] Etymonline dates the verb to about 1300.^[7]

Semantic evolution

The verb first described violent movement of the body, and the sense "to throw, hurl" followed: mid-14th century in Etymonline, about 1420 in the OED.^[7][8] The early sense survives in to fling out in a passion.^[12][4] From 1487 it was used of a horse kicking and plunging,^[8] and in 16th-century Scots of dancing,^[8] and the noun fling came to mean a vigorous dance, best known in the Highland fling (1804 in Etymonline, 1806 in the OED).^[7][8] The noun is recorded from the mid-16th century for a passing attempt or attack, to have a fling at, and for a sarcastic gibe;^[8][4][6] Johnson (1755) defined it as a throw and as "a gibe; a sneer".^[13] The sense of a spell of unrestrained indulgence, to have one's fling, is from 1827,^[8][7] and that of a brief, casual love affair from 1913.^[8] Weekley traces far-flung to Kipling's "far-flung battle-line" in Recessional.^[12] In thieves' slang fling meant to snatch (1728) and to cheat.^[14]

Timeline

• 1300 – to dash, rush, go violently.^[8][6]
• c. 1300 – of a weapon, to be sent swiftly forth.^[8]
• c. 1380 – to aim a blow (obsolete by 1540).^[8]
• c. 1420 – to throw, cast, hurl.^[8] Etymonline dates this sense to the mid-14th century.^[7]
• 1487 – of a horse, to kick and plunge.^[8]
• c. 1550 – noun, a passing attempt or attack; a gibe.^[8][4]
• 1556 – noun, a hasty or reckless movement.^[8]
• 1590 – noun, a throw.^[8]
• 1806 – a vigorous dance, as in the Highland fling.^[8] Etymonline dates it to 1804.^[7]
• 1827 – a spell of unrestrained indulgence.^[8][7]
• 1913 – a brief romantic or sexual affair.^[8]

Meanings

Verb

1. To throw with force or carelessly; to hurl or toss: He flung his bag onto the back seat.^[11][4][8]
2. To move oneself or a part of the body suddenly and vigorously: She flung her arms around her brother.^[11][4]
3. To go or rush angrily or violently: He flung out of the meeting without a word.^[4][8][9]
4. To put or send suddenly and without warning: The soldiers flung the prisoners into a cellar.^[11]
5. fling oneself into: to devote oneself eagerly and energetically to something.^[11]
6. To cast aside; to discard.^[11]
7. To say something violently or offensively.^[11]
8. Of a horse, to kick and plunge.^[4][8]

Noun

1. An act of flinging; a throw.^[4][8]
2. A short period of carefree pleasure: one last fling before the exams.^[8][11]
3. A brief, casual romantic or sexual relationship.^[8]
4. A casual attempt: to have a fling at painting.^[4][8][9]
5. A lively Scottish dance, the Highland fling.^[8][7]
6. (dated) A scornful remark; a gibe.^[4][8][13]

Word family

• flinger
• outfling
• Highland fling

Related words

• flay

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
3. ^ a b c Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
6. ^ a b c d e f g Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ a b c d Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
10. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
11. ^ a b c d e f g h Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
12. ^ a b c Weekley, Ernest (1921), An Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, London: John Murray
13. ^ a b Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
14. ^ Green, Jonathon (2010), Green's Dictionary of Slang, London: Chambers; digital ed. 2016–, https://greensdictofslang.com