flake (1)

[Lit. a piece stripped off, from the verb, which appears in flay; Icel. flag a =a flag or slab of stone; flakna =to flake off, to split; flagna =to flake off; Sw. flag a a flaw, a crack, a flake; IMG:content-1705.png:[blocks in formation] IMG:content-1706.png:[blocks in formation] 1. Archœol.: A small fragment of stone chipped off by ancient man in forming flint or other stone implements. Used chiefly as an element in the compound Flint-flake (q. v.). 2. Hortic . ( pl .): One of the three divisions under which the endle varies of Carnation, Dianthus caryophyllus , are arranged, the others being Bizarres and Picotees. Flakes have two colors only, and their stripes are large, going quite through the leaves. They are subdivided into scarlet, pink, purple, yellow, and other flakes. ( Loudon .) flake (2), s. [Icel. fleki =a flake or hurdle.] I. Ord. Lang.: A portable fencing or hurdle. II. Technically: 1. Fish - curing : A platform of slats, wands, or hurdles, on which fish is placed to dry; a fish-flake. 2. Naut .: A stage suspended over the side of a ship for the convenience of the painters or calkers. flake-white, s. Painting : A pigment consisting of English white lead in the form of scales or plates. It is an oxidized carbonate of lead. When levigated, it is called body-white. The name flake-white is derived from the figure of the pigment. ( Weale .) filāke, v . t . & i. [FLAKE (1), 8.] Α. Trans.: Τo form into flakes or loose particles. "From the bleak pole no winds inclement blow, Mold the round hail, or flake the fleecy snow." Pope: Homer's Ody ey, iv. 772. B. In trans.: To break up or separate into flakes; to peel or scale off.