flame
/fleɪm/
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: 4.07 in modern English
10
Scrabble Score
5
Letters
1
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
The visible part of fire; a stream of burning vapour or gas, emitting light and heat.
Countable; Uncountable
noun
A romantic partner or lover in a usually short-lived but passionate affair.
Countable; Uncountable
noun
The contrasting light and dark figure seen in wood used for stringed instrument making; the curl.
Countable; Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "Long after his cigar burnt bitter, he sat with eyes fixed on the blaze. When the flames at last began to flicker and subside, his lids fluttered, then drooped; but he had lost all reckoning of time when he opened them again to find Miss Erroll in furs and ball-gown kneeling on the hearth[…]."
- "The flames will then be joined together next week at Stoke Mandeville in Buckinghamshire, the home of the Paralympics, and the united flame will make its final journey to London for the opening of the 14th Paralympic Games next Wednesday."
- "Energy has seldom been found where we need it when we want it. Ancient nomads, wishing to ward off the evening chill and enjoy a meal around a campfire, had to collect wood and then spend time and effort coaxing the heat of friction out from between sticks to kindle a flame."
- "I could copy out yards of rhapsody to Lord George Poynings, her old flame, in which she addressed him by the most affectionate names."
- "Flames are, unfortunately, a fact of USENET life. It's a rare USENET regular who hasn't been shaken to the foundations with anger at something some jerk has posted."
- "[M]arked by myriad clouds of every sunset-colour - flame, purple, pink, green, violet, and all the tints of gold."
Etymology
From Middle English flawme, blend of Old French flame and flambe, flamble, the first from Latin flamma, the second from Latin flammula, diminutive of flamma, both from pre-Latin *fladma; Proto-Italic *flagmā, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰel- (“to shimmer, gleam, shine”). Displaced native Old English līeġ.
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: flawme, flame, flamma, flammula, *flagmā, *bʰel-