NYT Dictionary

FLAW

/flɔ/
NounVerbFLAWGrade 9

Accepted in official NYT Spelling Bee puzzle years: 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023

Meaning

A flake, fragment, or shiver.

Etymology

Origin: Old English

From Middle English flawe, flay (“a flake of fire or snow, spark, splinter”), probably from Old Norse flaga (“a flag or slab of stone, flake”), from Proto-Germanic *flagō (“a layer of soil”), from Proto-Indo-European *plok- (“broad, flat”). Cognate with Icelandic flaga (“flake”), Swedish flaga (“flake, scale”), Danish flage (“flake”), Middle Low German vlage (“a layer of soil”), Old English flōh (“a fragment, piece”).

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

vicetumultuproarquarreldefectfaultblemishaberrationabyssanachronism

NYT Puzzle Appearances

Accepted in 2 recorded puzzles:

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