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flail

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flails

Main Entry:: ¹flail
Pronunciation:: \ˈflāl\
Function:: noun
Etymology:: Middle English fleil, flail, partly from Old English *flegel (whence Old English fligel), from Late Latin flagellum flail, from Latin, whip & partly from Anglo-French flael, from Late Latin flagellum — more at flagellate
Date:: before 12th century

: a hand threshing implement consisting of a wooden handle at the end of which a stouter and shorter stick is so hung as to swing freely

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