Link Centre Dictionary

flame

UK/fleɪm/ US/ˈfleɪm/ common

noun

1.

the process of combustion of inflammable materials producing heat and light and (often) smoke

  • “fire was one of our ancestors”
Synonyms

verb

1.

shine with a sudden light

  • “The night sky flared with the massive bombardment”
Synonyms
2.

be in flames or aflame

  • “The sky seemed to flame in the Hawaiian sunset”
3.

Origin

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.

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WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.