Flange
/flændʒ/noun
A projecting rim, collar, or projecting edge used for joining or strengthening something.
Did you know?The word is tied to a Germanic root meaning “to spread or splay out,” which is why it belongs to the same deep family as words for wings and flapping motion.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*pleǵ-
“to strike, hit, or fold? (reconstructed root behind a Germanic branch of spreading/flapping forms)”
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*flangjaną
“to spread or splay out”
Old French
OF
flangier
“to spread out, project, or extend (attested intermediary influence in medieval technical vocabulary)”
Middle English
ME
flange
“a projecting edge or rim”
Modern English
English
flange
“a projecting rim or collar used for joining or support”