flail
1. flail \'fla-(*)l\ n [ME fleil, flail, partly fr. (assumed) OE flegel
(akin to OHG] flegil flail; both fr. a prehistoric WGmc word borrowed fr.
LL flagellum flail, fr. L, whip) & partly fr. MF flaiel, fr. LL flagellum -
more at FLAGELLATE : a hand threshing implement consisting of a wooden
handle at the end of w hich a stouter and shorter stick is so hung as to
swing freely
2. flail vt 1: to strike with or as if with a flail 2: to thresh with a
flail : to engage in flailing : THRASH {~ed away at each other}