fluke English · revision 2448

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /fluːk/ ''(UK)''; /fluk/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ There are three nouns spelled ''fluke''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate) The one meaning “a stroke of luck” is of unknown origin,^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) possibly from an English dialect word ''fluke'' “a guess”, though that is recorded only from 1876.^(Barnhart 1995)^(RHWU) The flatfish ''fluke'' is [[inh|enm|floke]],^(MW Collegiate)^(Barnhart 1995) [[inh|ang|flōc|t=flatfish]],^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) related to Old Norse ''flóki''.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(RHWU) The anchor ''fluke'' (1561) is perhaps a special use of the fish name, from its flat shape.^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(RHWU)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ In billiards, a successful stroke made by accident (1857).^(OED 1989)^(MW Collegiate)^(Barnhart 1995)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Etymonline finds the luck sense by 1855, in an account of a horse race in Yorkshire, and in billiards by 1856.^(Etymonline) From the lucky shot it widened to any lucky stroke or unexpected success.^(OED 1989) The Century Dictionary connected it with the whale's flukes and the sailors' phrase ''to go a-fluking'' “to go very fast”, but the OED would allow only a possible dialect origin.^(Etymonline) The flatfish name was transferred to parasitic flatworms in the 1660s because of their shape,^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) and the anchor name to the two lobes of a whale's tail by 1725.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * before 700 – Old English ''flōc'', a flatfish.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1561 – the blade at the end of an anchor's arm.^(OED 1989)^(MW Collegiate)^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1668 – a parasitic flatworm.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1725 – the lobes of a whale's tail.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1857 – an accidentally successful stroke at billiards.^(OED 1989)^(MW Collegiate)^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1881 – verb, to hit a ball by a fluke.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A stroke of luck; a chance occurrence.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A lucky, accidental shot in billiards or pool.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)

+ # A flatfish, especially a flounder.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A parasitic flatworm; a trematode.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # The triangular blade at the end of an anchor's arm.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Either lobe of a whale's tail.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To achieve something by pure chance.^(OED 1989)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[flukey]]

+ * [[fluky]]

+ * [[flake]]

+ * [[floe]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}