different between flax vs swingle

English

Etymology

From Old English fleax, from Proto-Germanic *flahs?, from Proto-Indo-European *ple?- (“to plait”). Cognate with Old Frisian flax, Old Saxon *flahs (Dutch vlas), Old High German flahs (German Flachs); the Northern Germanic (and most likely the Gothic too) stem is different.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /flæks/
• Rhymes: -æks

Noun

flax (countable and uncountable, plural flaxes)

1. A plant of the genus Linum, especially Linum usitatissimum, which has a single, slender stalk, about a foot and a half high, with blue flowers. Also known as linseed, especially when referring to the seeds.
2. The fibers of Linum usitatissimum, grown to make linen and related textiles.
3. The flax bush, a plant of the genus Phormium, native to New Zealand, with strap-like leaves up to 3 metres long that grow in clumps.

Usage notes

The plural flaxes is used to indicate multiple species or varieties of flax; otherwise, flax is uncountable.

Derived terms

• flaxen
• New Zealand flax (Phormium spp.)
• For numerous others see Linum#Selected species on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Translations

See also

• Flax Bourton
• linen
• tow

References

• flax at OneLook Dictionary Search
• flax on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Linum on Wikispecies.Wikispecies

Anagrams

• falx

Swedish

Noun

flax c

1. (slang) (unexpected) good luck

Declension

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?sw??.?l/
• Rhymes: -???l

Etymology 1

From Middle English swingelen, from the noun (see below). Related to Middle Dutch swingelen, swengelen.

Verb

swingle (third-person singular simple present swingles, present participle swingling, simple past and past participle swingled)

1. (transitive) To beat or flog, especially for extracting the fibres from flax stalks; to scutch.
   • 1858, John Harland (editor), The House and Farm Accounts of the Shuttleworths of Gawthorpe Hall, in the County of Lancaster

     The first operation in dressing flax is to swingle or beat it, in order to detach it from the harle or skimps.

2. (transitive) To beat off the tops of (weeds) without pulling up the roots.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Forby to this entry?)

Etymology 2

From Middle English swingel, from Old English swingel, swingelle (“whip, scourge”), equivalent to swing +? -le. Related to Middle Dutch swingel, swengel, Dutch zwingel, zwengel. Doublet of swingel.

Noun

swingle (plural swingles)

1. An implement used to separate the fibres of flax by beating them; a scutch.

Etymology 3

From swing +? -le (frequentative suffix).

Verb

swingle (third-person singular simple present swingles, present participle swingling, simple past and past participle swingled)

1. To dangle; to wave hanging.
2. (obsolete, Britain, dialect) To swing for pleasure.

Anagrams

• slewing, swingel