lash
pronunciation
How to pronounce lash in British English:
UK [læʃ]
How to pronounce lash in American English:
US [læʃ]
-
- Noun:
- any of the short curved hairs that grow from the edges of the eyelids
- leather strip that forms the flexible part of a whip
- a quick blow with a whip
-
- Verb:
- beat severely with a whip or rod
- lash or flick about sharply
- strike as if by whipping
- bind with a rope, chain, or cord
Word Origin
- lash (n.)
- c. 1300, las "a blow, a stroke," later "flexible part of a whip" (late 14c.), possibly imitative. The verb might be the source of the noun.
- lash (v.2)
- "bind," 1620s, originally nautical, from Middle French lachier, from Old French lacier "to lace" (see lace (v.)). Related: Lashed; lashing.
- lash (v.1)
- "to strike with a whip," c. 1300, "to deal a blow;" later "to whip" (late 14c.); see lash (n.). Lash out "to strike out violently" is from 1560s. Related: Lashed; lashing.
Example
- 1. They could soon be feeling the sting of the lash .
- 2. Some blame others , lash out and damage themselves further .
- 3. For us , they toiled in sweatshops and settled the west ; endured the lash of the whip and plowed the hard earth .
- 4. As its captain , he would lash out indiscriminately at members of the crew and employed for the smallest of misdemeanours " somewhat medieval methods of punishment " .
- 5. Now more common is at least a night behind bars , an appearance before a judge , and a punishment consisting of the lash or a fine worth several hundred american dollars .