flout 
He makes 'peace with nothing, takes refuse in untiling. 
'.outii at happiness, nt repose, l joy. 
'//.. l'i uliiril, XXN I. r,40. 
II. trans. To mock or scoff at ; treat with dis- 
dain or contempt. 
A college of wit-crackers cannot flout me out of my 
humour. Shot., Much Ado, v. 4. 
The gay beams of lightsome day 
fiild but to flout the ruins gray. 
Scott, L. of L. M., 11. 1. 
For he had never flouted them, neither made overmuch 
of outcrv because they robbed other people. 
Ji. D. Black more, Lorna Doone, iv. 
flout'(flout), n. [<flouft, v.] A mock; ascoff; 
a gibe. 
The Spaniards now thought them secure, and therefore 
asked them if they would be pleased to walk to their 
Plantations, with many other such flouts; but our Men an- 
swered never a word. Dampier, Voyages, I. 11(1. 
Wherefore wail for one 
Who put your beauty to this flout and scorn 
By dressing it in rags? Tennyson, Geraint. 
The broad floutt, an ironical representation of a thing 
as its opposite. 
As he that saw a dwarfe go in the streete said to his 
companion that walked with him, See yonder gyant; and 
to a Negro or woman blackemoore, in good sooth ye are 
a faire one : we may call it the broad flimi,'. 
Puttenham, Arte of Eng. Poesie, p. 159. 
The antiphrasis, or the broad flout, when we deride by 
flat contradiction, antithetically calling a dwarf a giant. 
/. D' Israeli, Amen, of Lit, II. 52. 
floutaget (flou'taj), n. [< flout* + -age.~\ The 
act of flouting; 'flouts. 
The floutaye of his own family. 
II. Jonson, Every Mali out of his Humour, Characters. 
flouter 1 ! (flou'ter), n. [< ME. flowtour, floutoitr, 
< OF.flaiiteitr,fleiisteor, mod. F.flilteur, a play- 
er on the flute: see flout 1 a,ud flitter.] One who 
plays on the flute ; a fluter. 
flouter" (flou'ter), n. [<flouf2 + -er 1 .'} One 
who flouts ; a mocker. 
Democritus, that common flouter of folly, was ridiculous 
himself. Burton, Anat. of Mel., To the Header, p. 71. 
floutingly (flou'ting-li), adv. With flouting; 
disdainfully. 
flouting-stock (flou'ting-stok), n. [(.flouting + 
stock. Cf. laughing-stock.] 1. An object of 
flouting or ridicule ; a laughing-stock. Shak. 
[Rare.] 2f. A scoffing jest. 
You are wise, and full of gibes and vloutiny-stogs ; and 
'tis not convenient you should be cozened. 
Shak., M. W. of W., iv. 6. 
flow 1 (flo), v. [< ME. flowen,< AS. flowan (pret. 
fledw, vLfltfom, pp. flowen), flow, = D. vloeijen 
= MLG. vloien, vloigen, LG. floien, flojen, flow, 
= OHG. flouwen, flewen, flawcn, MHG. vlouwen, 
t'lewen, vlden, flmn, fleun, etc., G. dial, flatten, 
wash, rinse (in running water), = Icel. floa, 
flood, also boil milk ; cf . Gr. ir'Aueiv, Ionic form 
equiv. to Gr. vUeiv, irAelv (}/ *7r?.f F), sail, go by 
sea, float, swim, = L. pluere, rain (plait, it 
rains), Skt. / plu, float, swim, sail, hover, fly; 
a shorter form of the root which appears in AS. 
fledtan, E. fleet 1 , float, etc., and the derived 
AS. flotian, E. float: see fleet 1 and. float. Hence 
flood, q. v.] I. intrans. 1. To move along, as 
water or other fluid, in a continuous succes- 
sion or stream, by the force either of gravity or 
of impulse upon individual particles or parts ; 
move in a current ; stream ; run : as, the river 
flows northward ; venous blood flows from the 
extremities to the heart; the crowd flowed in a 
steady stream toward the point of attraction. 
The thridde day shal flou'e a flood 
That al this world shal hyle (cover], 
Altenglische Dichtungen (ed. Boddeker), p. 23. 
Where Conradus the Emperour admitted them into the 
Countrie of Sueuia : and thence they flowed into other 
parts. Purchas, Pilgrimage, p. 160. 
Hence 2. To proceed; issue; well forth: as, 
wealth flows from industry and economy. 
I'll use that tongue I have ; if wit flow from it, 
As boldness from my bosom, let it not be doubted 
I shall do good. Shak., W. T., ii. 2. 
What a brave confidence flows from his spirit ! 
Fletcher, Humorous Lieutenant, i. 1. 
Here tears shall flow from a more generous cause, 
Such tears as patriots shed for dying laws. 
Addison, Cato, Prol. 
3. To abound; have or be in abundance; be 
full : as, flowing cups or goblets. 
The dry streets flow'd with men. Chapman. 
4. To glide smoothly, without harshness or 
dissonance : as, a flowing period; flowing num- 
bers. 
Cursed be the verse, how well soe'er it flow, 
That tends to make one worthy man my foe. 
Pope, Prol. to Satires, 1. 233. 
The immortal accents which flowed from his [Milton's] 
lips. Macaulay, Milton. 
2283 
5. To hang loose and waving: as, flowing skirts ; 
flowing locks. 
Swcll'.l with the wanton Wind, they loosely flow, 
And ev'ry Step and graceful Motion show. 
ro,,.,,vi>e, tr. of Ovid's Art of Love. 
See the pnmd pipers on the bow, 
And mark the gaudy streamers flow 
r'rum their loud chanters down. 
Scott, L. of the L., ii. 16. 
6. To rise, as the tide : opposed to ebb : as, the 
tide ebbs andjlotc* twice iu twenty-four hours. 
It ebbethe and flowethe, as other sees don. 
Mandemlle, Travels, p. 272. 
It flowed twice in six hours, and about Naragansett . . . 
(the hurricane] raised the tide fourteen or fifteen foot 
above the ordinary spring tides. 
U'iitlhrop, Hist. New England, I. 320. 
flower 
8. That part of an inclosed space, as a reser- 
voir, along and from which a contained liquid 
is flowing.- Flow-and-plunge structure, in 
a peculiar form of stratification indii -atinc deposition in 
tin- presence of strong ami frequently shifting currents. 
The Bow-cnd-ptimgC structure is nearly the same :i 
bnidiny (which see, under .;.'/. i. now of induction 
across an element of surface, in maglUtltM, the pnMuet 
of the surface of the clement by the perpendicular emu- 
pnnent of induction. Atkinson. Line Of flow, in A.w/n,- 
dynamics, a curve imagined to be so drawn within a liquid 
at any instant that at each point of the curve the velocity 
of the liquid is along the curve. A line of How is not gen- 
erally the path of a particle, because it represents only an 
instantaneous state of things, and as the particle moves 
onward the line of flow itself becomes distorted. But in 
the case of steady motion the lines of flow are fixed and 
are paths of particles, being then designated as stream- 
tines. 
Every line of flow cuts every equipotential curve which 
It meets at right angles ; for at each point the resultant 
velocity is along the tangent to the line of flow and along 
the normal to the equipotential curve. 
Minchin, Uniplanar Kinematics, VI. i. 101. 
7. To discharge blood, as in the catamenia or 
after childbirth. 8. In ceram., to work or blend 
freely : said of a glaze. 
II. trans. 1. To cover with water ; overflow; 
inundate : as, the low grounds along the river flow 2 (flou), n. [Sc., < Icel. floi, a marshy moor, 
thrugh the vale of Josophat. 
Sir K. Quylforde, Pylgrymage, p. 81. 
are annually flowed. also a bay or large frith, < floa, flood: seejfl 
And in wynter, and specyally in Ixmt.it is meruaylously A marshymoor; a morass ; a low-lying piece of 
flowen with rage of water y' commyth with grete vyolence watery land. 
In many of these morasses, or flows, as they are called, 
when the surface is bored, the water issues out like a tor- 
rent. Statist. Ace. of Scotland, iix. 20. 
Here I flowed the drie moate, made a new drawbridge. 
Evelyn, Diary, May 8, 1668. 
2. To carry down in a current: said of water 
a] 
A. flow is a wet tract of ground, generally flat, though 
such can exist on a gentle slope where there has been no 
artificial drainage. Athenaeum, No. 3156, p. 503. 
;he Tahk-heen'-ah noticeably flows less water 
than the Xulson. The Century, XXX. 747. 
A form of the obsolete preterit and past 
participle (flowen) of fly 1 . 
flow 4 , flough 2 (flo), . [E. dial.] Cold; windy; 
boisterous; bleak: as. flow weather. Brockett. 
flowage (flo'aj), n. [< flow* + -age.] The act 
of flowing; the state of being flowed. 
flowandt, [ME. flowanda, flowende, ppr. of 
3. To cover with any liquid, as varnish or glaze, 
by causing it to flow over the surface. 
The glass is filed, cleaned, and flowed with collodion, as 
before directed. Silver Sunbeam, p. 144. .,.. , 
4. In founding, to permit (the molten metal) floicen,now; used archaically.] 1. Flowing, 
to flow through the mold long enough to carry Mere Bllt wrote he like a gentleman? 
off all air and foreign matter, in order to insure johp. In rhyme, flue tinkling rhyme, and/owond verse. 
a casting free from bubbles and similar defects ; 
run through To flow a jib or staysail sheet, to 
slack it off. 
flow 1 (flo), n. [<JtOW l ,V.] 1. The act or state 
of flowing; a continuous passing or transmis- b (flou'bog), n. 
sion, as of water or other fluid; movement in *$$* of which g; t ' he 
or as if m a current or stream: as, a .flow of F~ 
2. Unstable; fluctuating. Jamieson. 
He was flowand in his minde, and uncertane to quhat 
parte he wald assist. Bellenden, tr. of Livy, p. 49. 
r ow 2 + log.] A 
is liable to rise 
and falf with every increase or diminution of 
water, as from rains or springs. Also called 
flow-moss. [Scotland and Ireland.] 
flbwent. An obsolete preterit plural and past 
By the'he'ightTtne" lownessfor "the "mean, if dearth participle of fly 1 . 
Or foison follow. Shak., A. and C., ii. 7. flower (flou'er), n. [Early mod. E. also flmore, 
Boast the pure blood of an illustrious race, floitre, flotir ; < ME. flowre, flower, flour, flur, 
In quiet tow from Lucrece to Lucrece. flor (= G. Dan. Sw. flor, blossoming), < Or. 
- , flur, flour, fleur, F. fletir = Pr. Sp. Pg.flor 
blood, oil, lava, or magnetism ; the volume of 
flow in a river. 
They take the flow o' the Nile 
By certain scales i' the pyramid ; they know, 
Pope, Essay on Man, iv. 208. 
The flow of electricity is parallel and proportional to 
the flow at tone. 
Atkinson, tr. of Mascart and Joubert, I. 188. 
2. That which flows, or results from flowing; 
a mass of matter moving or that has moved ill 
a stream: as, to walk over a la,v&-flow. 
I do not think that these felsites all belong to one out- 
burst, whether as an intrusion or a flow. 
Geol. Jour., XLIV. 277. 
3. The rise of the tide: as, the daily ebb and 
flow. 
His mother was a witch, and one so strong 
That could control the moon, make flows and ebbs. 
Shak., Tempest, v. 1. 
And knows the ebbs 
And flows of State. -B. Jonson, Volpone, ii. 1. 
4. Any strong progressive movement, as of 
thought, language, trade, etc., comparable to 
the flow of a river; stream; current: as, a flow 
, 
' = j^ flore, < Ij.flos (flor-), a flower, orig. "flosis, 
c f fld rere or i K . "floscre, bloom, blossom, flower, 
jgJ"' ., ^ ^ = ^^ ^ .^ ap ' pearing 
in AS. blostma, ~&. blossom, etc., and, in a shorter 
form, in AS. blowan, E. blow%, bloom, Goth. Woma 
= OS. blomo = AS. *U6ma, E. lloom : see 6/ojc 2 , 
bloom 1 , bloom 2 , blossom. In the sense of 'fine 
meal ' the word is now separated in spelling : see 
flour. Hence also (from l^.flos (flor-), a flower) 
E. flora, floral, etc., and (from L. florere, &OUT- 
ish) flower, v., flourish, florid, etc.] 1. In bot. : 
(a) A growth comprising the reproductive or- 
gans of a phenogamous plant and their envelops. 
A complete flower consists of pistil, stamens, corolla, and 
calyx in regular series, any one or more of which may be 
absent. The female organs, or those of fructification, are 
the ovules, which are usually inclosed within a stigma- 
bearing pistil or ovary. The male or fertilizing organs are 
the stamens, the essential part of which is the pollen-case 
or anther. According to the association or separation 
of eloquence; the flow of commodities toward ^SJSSS^&2S^^S^^^^^ 
a commercial center. 
The feast of reason and the flow of soul. 
Pope, Imit. of Horace, II. 1. 128. 
Thy constant flow of love, that knew no foil. 
are bisexual (hermaphrodite or perfect), unisexual, monoj- 
cious, dioecious, etc. The corolla and calyx form the flo- 
ral envelop or perianth, which may be wholly wanting, in 
which case the flower is said to be naked or achlamyd- 
eous ; if the corolla only is absent, the flower is monochla- 
mydeous. (b) In bryology, the growth compris- 
Cowper, My Mother's Picture. r"TT > T ' o Tn 
ing the reproductive organs in mosses. 2. In 
5. Figuratively, abundant influx or efflux; co- P0 p u ] ar language: (a) Any blossom or inflo- 
piousness in emission, communication, or re- 
ception. 
And treasures that can ne'er be told 
Shall bless this land, by my rich flow. 
Fletcher (and another), False One, ill. 2. 
By reason of man's imbecility and proneness to elation 
of mind, too high a flow of prosperity is dangerous. 
And there in were also alle maner vertuous Heroes of 
gode smelle, and alle other Herbes also, that beren faire 
Floures. Mandeville, Travels, p. 278. 
Hooker, Eccles. Polity, v. 76. 
Here's flowen for you : 
Hot lavender, mints, savory, marjoram, 
The marigold. Shak., W. T., iv. S. 
My joy at being so agreeably deceived has given me such (l>) Any plant considered with reference to its 
&flow of spirits ! Sheridan, The Duenna, ii. 2. blossom, or of which the blossom is the essen- 
6 In mech., the volume of fluid which flows tial feature; a plant cultivated for its floral 
through a passage of any given section in a beauty. 3. The best or finest of a number o1 
unit of time. 7. In ceram., the flux used to persons or things, or the choice part of a thing: 
cause color to run and blend in firing. as, the flower of the family. 
What is technically called a flow: i. e., introducing a lit- The! were thre hundred knyghtes that weren full noble 
tie volatilising salt into the saggar in which the ware Is and worth! men, ffor the! were the flour of the noste. 
Bred. Jewitt, Ceramic Art, II. viiL Merlin (E. E. T. i>.\ m. 401. 
