flame English · revision 8026

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1303|origins=la flamma}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /fleɪm/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is Middle English flamme, flaume, flambe,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) [[bor|xno|flaume|t=a flame]], flaumbe, Old French flame, flambe,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) from Latin [[m|la|flammula|t=small flame]], diminutive of [[m|la|flamma|t=flame, blazing fire]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from *flagmā, related to flagrāre, to burn (see [[flagrant]]),^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) from PIE [[ine-pro|*bʰleg-|alt=*bhleg-|t=to shine, flash]].^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A blazing fire: about 1303, in Mannyng's ''Handlyng Synne'';^(Barnhart 1988) a flame, the mid-14th century in Etymonline.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Fire in general, and figuratively the heat of emotion, are from the late 14th century,^(Etymonline) and the flames of hell or purgatory from 1382.^(OED 1989) ''The flames'', destruction by burning, is from 1483.^(OED 1989) A sweetheart, the object of one's passion, is from the 1640s;^(Etymonline) the figurative sense burning passion was already in Middle English, as in Old French and Latin.^(Etymonline) The verb, to blaze, is from about 1303,^(Barnhart 1988) and to burst out in passion from the 1540s.^(Etymonline) To flame out, of jet engines, is from 1950,^(Etymonline) and to send abusive messages on a computer network from the 1980s.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1303 – a fire; the verb.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * late 14th century – passion.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1540s – to break out in passion.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1640s – a sweetheart.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1950 – flame out.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1980s – to flame online.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A hot, glowing mass of burning gas; the visible part of a [[fire]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(flames)'' The state of burning: ''to burst into flames''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Strong feeling; passion.^(Etymonline)^(AHD)

+ # ''(informal)'' A sweetheart: ''an old flame''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To burn brightly; to [[blaze]].^(AHD)

+ # To flush or glow suddenly, as with colour.^(AHD)

+ # ''(computing, informal)'' To send an abusive message.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[flamer]]

+ * [[flameless]]

+ * [[flamelike]]

+ * [[flaming]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[flamboyant]]

+ * [[flamingo]]

+ * [[flammable]]

+ * [[oriflamme]]

+ * [[phlegm]]

+ * [[phlogiston]]

+ * [[phlox]]

+ * [[inflame]]

+ * [[flagrant]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ In Dorset dialect flame was a pronunciation of phlegm, a cold.^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}