Flint
/flɪnt/noun
A hard, brittle form of quartz used for striking sparks and making tools.
Did you know?Flint is the classic stone that made sparks for fire-starting, and its name is ancient enough to have traveled through Germanic languages long before modern English.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*pleu-
“to flow, float”
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*flintaz
“flint, hard stone”
Old English
OE
flint
“flint, hard stone”
Middle English
ME
flint
“flint, a hard stone used for striking fire”
Modern English
English
flint
“a hard, brittle quartz stone used to make sparks or tools”