Flailingly
/ˈfleɪ.lɪŋ.li/noun
In a flailing or wildly thrashing manner.
Did you know?The core word flail traces back to a Latin term for a threshing tool, linking modern clumsy thrashing to one of agriculture’s oldest beat-down implements.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*pleǵ-
“to strike, beat”
Latin
Latin
flagellum
“a whip or lash”
Old French
Old French
flayel
“a flail used for threshing grain”
Middle English
English
flaylen
“to thresh with a flail; to beat or strike wildly”
Modern English
English
flailing
“thrashing or waving about in an uncontrolled way”
Modern English
English
flailingly
“in a flailing manner”
Explore more surprising origins