Etymograph

English

flinch

Flinch comes from Middle French flenchir ‘to bend’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *kleng-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kleng-‘to bend, turn, wind’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*hlankijaną‘to bend, twist, flex’reconstructed
  3. Frankishc. 250–700*hlankijanreconstructed
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400flenchir
  5. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600same form‘to bend’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1693flinch

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kleng-‘to bend, turn, wind’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*hlankijaną‘to bend, twist, flex’reconstructed
  3. Frankishc. 250–700*hlankijanreconstructed
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400flenchir
  5. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600same form‘to bend’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1693flinch

Earliest quotation: 1693, John Locke, (please specify the section number): “A child, by a constant course of kindness, may…”

The story

Attested in English since the 16th century.

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *kleng- ‘to bend, turn, wind’

links, flank, 3 more

Today it means

noun A reflexive jerking away.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *kleng- / flinch

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