fluke

== English == === Pronunciation === (UK) IPA(key): /fluːk/ enPR: flo͞ok (US) IPA(key): /fluk/ enPR: flo͞ok (obsolete) IPA(key): /fljuːk/ enPR: flyo͞ok Rhymes: -uːk === Etymology 1 === Unknown, perhaps dialectal. It seems to have originally referred to a lucky shot at billiards. Possibly connected to sense 3, referring to whales' use of flukes to move rapidly. Possibly derived from German Glück (“luck, good fortune, happiness”). ==== Noun ==== fluke (plural flukes) A lucky or improbable occurrence that could probably never be repeated. ===== Derived terms ===== ===== Descendants ===== → Cantonese: 符碌 (fu6 luk11) ===== Translations ===== ==== Verb ==== fluke (third-person singular simple present flukes, present participle fluking, simple past and past participle fluked) To obtain a successful outcome by pure chance. (snooker) To fortuitously pot a ball in an unintended way. ===== Derived terms ===== ==== Related terms ==== === Etymology 2 === From Old English flōc (“flatfish”), of Germanic origin, related to German flach (“flat”), Old Norse floke (“flatfish”), all ultimately from Proto-Germanic *flakaz. ==== Noun ==== fluke (plural fluke or flukes) A summer flounder (Paralichthys dentatus) A trematode; a parasitic flatworm of the class Trematoda, related to tapeworms (class Cestoda). ===== Usage notes ===== The unmarked plural fluke is used to refer to the fish; the marked plural flukes is used to refer to flatworms. ===== Derived terms ===== Flatworms American fluke (Fascioloides magna) bile fluke (Clonorchis sinensis) blood fluke (Schistosomatidae spp.) bladder fluke (Schistosoma haematobium) cat liver fluke (Opisthorchis felineus) cecal fluke (Postharmostomum gallinum) Chinese liver fluke (Clonorchis sinensis) deer fluke (Fascioloides magna) eye fluke flukelike flukeworm flukicide giant intestinal fluke (Fasciolopsis buski) giant liver fluke (Fascioloides magna) lancet fluke, lancet liver fluke (Dicrocoelium dendriticum) liver fluke lung fluke (Paragonimus spp.) sheep liver fluke (Fasciola hepatica) other bannock fluke (Rhombus maximus)) Gulf fluke (Paralichthys albiguttus) long fluke (Hippoglossoides limandoides) pole fluke (Glyptocephalus cynoglossus) sail fluke, sail-fluke (Lepidorhombus whiffiagonis) sand fluke (Hippoglossoides limandoides) === Etymology 3 === Mid-16th century in the sense of “anchor blade”. Probably the same word as in etymology 2 above or else a related word for something flat (cf. Proto-Germanic *flakaz). A derivation from Middle Low German vlögel (“wing”), from Proto-Germanic *flugilaz, seems phonetically impossible. If anything, related vlōch, vlucht (“flight”, both also “wing”) or even *vlunke (modern Low German Flunk (“wing, pinion”)) are more plausible candidates. Note that the kind of whale's fin is called Fluke in contemporary German, but this is likely from English. ==== Noun ==== fluke (plural flukes) (nautical) Any of the triangular blades at the end of an anchor, designed to catch the ground. Either of the two lobes of a whale's or similar creature's tail. A metal hook on the head of certain staff weapons (such as a bill), made in various forms depending on function, whether used for grappling or to penetrate armour when swung at an opponent. In general, a winglike formation on a central piece. Waste cotton. ===== Derived terms ===== ===== Translations ===== === Further reading === fluke on Wikipedia.Wikipedia summer flounder on Wikipedia.Wikipedia trematoda on Wikipedia.Wikipedia James Orchard Halliwell (1846), “FLUKE”, in A Dictionary of Archaic and Provincial Words, Obsolete Phrases, Proverbs, and Ancient Customs, from the Fourteenth Century. […], volume I (A–I), London: John Russell Smith, […], →OCLC, page 365, column 2. Douglas Harper (2001–2026), “fluke”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.