flat
- flat
\ \ [14] The Old English word for ‘flat’ was efen ‘even’, and flat was not acquired until Middle English times, from Old Norse flatr. This came from a prehistoric Germanic *flataz, source also of German platt ‘flat’. And *flataz probably goes back to an Indo-European *pelə -, *plā-, denoting ‘spread out flat’, from which came Sanskrit prthūs ‘broad’, Greek platūs ‘broad’ (source of English place, plaice, plane [the tree], and platypus), Latin plānus ‘flat’ (whence English plane and plain ‘unadorned’), and also English place, plaice, plant, and flan. Flat ‘single-storey dwelling’ [19] is ultimately the same word, but it has a more circuitous history.
\ \ It is an alteration (inspired no doubt by the adjective flat) of a now obsolete Scottish word flet ‘interior of a house’, which came from a prehistoric Germanic *flatjam ‘flat surface, floor’, a derivative of the same source (*flataz) as produced the adjective.
\ \ Cf.⇒ FLAN, FLATTER, FLOOR, PLACE, PLAICE, PLANE, PLATYPUS
Word origins - 2ed.
J. Ayto.
2005.
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flat — flat … Dictionnaire des rimes
Flat — (fl[a^]t), a. [Compar. {Flatter} (fl[a^]t r[ e]r); superl. {Flattest} (fl[a^]t t[e^]st).] [Akin to Icel. flatr, Sw. flat, Dan. flad, OHG. flaz, and AS. flet floor, G. fl[ o]tz stratum, layer.] 1. Having an even and horizontal surface, or nearly… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
flat — flat1 [flat] adj. flatter, flattest [ME < ON flatr, akin to OHG flaz < IE * plāt, plēt , wide, flat (> Gr platys, broad, OE flet, floor) < base * plā , broad] 1. having a smooth, level surface; having little or no depression or… … English World dictionary
flat — Ⅰ. flat [1] ► ADJECTIVE (flatter, flattest) 1) having a level and even surface. 2) not sloping. 3) with a level surface and little height or depth: a flat cap. 4) (of shoes) without high heels. 5) … English terms dictionary
Flat — or flats may refer to:* Flatness * Flat (music), a symbol which denotes a lower pitch (music|flat) * Flat, an apartment within a residential building * Flat (geometry), the generalization of lines and planes in an n dimensional Euclidean space *… … Wikipedia
flat — 〈[ flæ̣t] Mus.〉 um einen halben Ton erniedrigt, z. B. D flat = Des; Ggs sharp [engl., „flach, tief, erniedrigt“] * * * Flat [flɛt], die; , s (ugs.): Kurzf. von ↑ Flatrate. * * * flat [flæt; … Universal-Lexikon
Flat — (englisch für flach) steht für eine gerade Kante an der Seite eines Wafers, siehe Flat (Wafer) Flatrate, Pauschaltarif in der Telekommunikationsbranche Flat Tax, ein einstufiger Einkommensteuertarif Flattop, eine Frisur Flat ist Ortsname von:… … Deutsch Wikipedia
Flat — Flat, n. 1. A level surface, without elevation, relief, or prominences; an extended plain; specifically, in the United States, a level tract along the along the banks of a river; as, the Mohawk Flats. [1913 Webster] Envy is as the sunbeams that… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
flat — adj, flat·ter; flat·test 1) being or characterized by a horizontal line or tracing without peaks or depressions <the EEG is ominously flat indicating that her brain function is gone (Don Gold)> 2) characterized by general impoverishment in… … Medical dictionary
flat — ● flat adjectif masculin (ancien français flac, mou) Se dit d un ver à soie atteint de flacherie. ● flat nom masculin (anglais flat, appartement) En Belgique, petit appartement, studio. ● flat (homonymes) nom masculin (anglais flat, appartement) … Encyclopédie Universelle
flat — flat, flatly The dominant adverbial form flatly is always used figuratively with words of denial and rejection such as contradict, deny, oppose, refuse, and reject. Flat is used in fixed expressions such as flat broke and turn something down flat … Modern English usage
