flash

Meanings

1. 1
   verb

   To shine suddenly and brightly, often for a short time.

   A shooting star flashed across the sky.

2. 2
   verb

   To appear suddenly for a very short time.

   The headlines flashed on the screen.

3. 3
   noun

   A sudden bright light.

   There was a flash of lightning during the storm.

4. 4
   noun

   A very short moment of time.

   If I had the chance, I'd do it in a flash.

5. 5
   noun

   A sudden experience of a feeling or idea.

   I had a flash of inspiration in the shower.

Appears in

Simplified etymology

Flash originally meant “splash water about” in Middle English and, like plash and splash, was probably imitative in origin. Its association with fire and light may have been encouraged by its resemblance to flame. The sense involving ostentatious style or wealth dates from the 17th century.

From Middle English flashe, flaske, also found as flosche and flushe (whence modern English flosh and flush), used in Middle and modern English for bodies of water with varying emphasis on them being "pools" or "marshes". It is not entirely clear whether these constitute a single term with varied spellings, or have distinct etymologies. The form flash, flashe is often suggested to be from Old French flache, French flaque, which is of Germanic origin, akin to Middle Dutch vlacke (“an estuary, flats with stagnant pools”). See flush for more on that form.

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External links

• Google Images
• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary