Etymograph

English

flush

Flush comes from Middle English flusshen.

  1. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500flusshen
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1596flush

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500flusshen
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1596flush

Earliest quotation: 1596, Edmund Spenser, Book V, Canto II: “As when a Faulcon hath with nimble flight /…”

The story

Perhaps related to Middle English flasshen, flasschen, flaschen, see flash; or a Middle English blend of flowen (‘to flow’) + guschen (‘to gush’).

Every English word from Middle English flusshen

Another origin of flush

  1. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500flushe
  2. Englishtodayflush

Various similar terms are found in dialectal English and Scots as flash and flosh (older Scots flosche), and the variation goes back to Middle English flushe, flosche, flashe, flaske. The DSL suggests a relation between flush, English flash (‘pool’), and Middle English flosche, but influence from other water-related senses of flush and flash is also conceivable.

Another origin of flush

  1. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600flus‘flow’uncertain
  2. Englishtodayflush

Today it means

noun A group of birds that have suddenly started up from undergrowth, trees, etc.

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

Etymograph / Middle English flusshen / flush

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