flay
A fright; a scareA fright; a scare.
» The bodies were found decapitated and with the skin flayed.
Die Leichen wurden enthauptet und geschunden vorgefunden.
Обнаруженные тела были обезглавлены, и с них была содрана кожа.
Meaning
2 senses(Northern England, Scotland, UK, dialectal)A fright; a scare.
(Northern England, Scotland, UK, dialectal)Fear; a source of fear; a formidable matter; a fearsome or repellent-looking person.
Examples
4 sentencesThe bodies were found decapitated and with the skin flayed.
ruОбнаруженные тела были обезглавлены, и с них была содрана кожа. — odexed
deDie Leichen wurden enthauptet und geschunden vorgefunden. — Waldelfe
His knees were flayed.
Her letters lacerate my heart, flay it wide open bleeding - yet I read every word.
Rabbi Akiva recited the Shema as he was flayed by the Romans.
Origin
From Middle English flayen, flaien, fleien, from Old English flīeġan ("to cause to fly, puFrom Middle English flayen, flaien, fleien, from Old English flīeġan ("to cause to fly, put to flight, frighten"), from Proto-Germanic *flaugijaną (“to let fly, cause to fly”), causative of Proto-Germanic *fleuganą (“to fly”).
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