Flay

• POS: Verb (transitive)

CIDE DICTIONARY

Flay, v. t. [OE. flean, flan, AS. fleán; akin to D. vlaen, Icel. flā, Sw. flå, Dan. flaae, cf. Lith. pleszti to tear, plyszti, v.i., to burst, tear; perh. akin to E. flag a flat stone, flaw.].

 To skin; to strip off the skin or surface of; as, to flay an ox; to flay the green earth.  [1913 Webster]
"With her nails
She 'll flay thy wolfish visage."  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

Flay, v.tr.
1 strip the skin or hide off, esp. by beating.
2 criticize severely (the play was flayed by the critics).
3 peel off (skin, bark, peel, etc.).
4 strip (a person) of wealth by extortion or exaction.

Derivative

flayer n.

Etymology

OE flean f. Gmc

THESAURUS

Flay

assail, attack, bark, berate, bleed, bleed white, blister, castigate, decorticate, defoliate, denude, deplume, despoil, dismember, displume, divest, drain, draw and quarter, dry, excoriate, exhaust, fleece, fustigate, impoverish, lacerate, lash, maim, mangle, milk, mutilate, pare, peel, pick clean, pick to pieces, pluck, pull apart, roast, scalp, scarify, scathe, scorch, scourge, shear, shred, skin, skin alive, slash, strip, strip bare, suck dry, take apart, tear apart, tear to pieces, tear to tatters, tongue-lash, trounce

ROGET THESAURUS

Flay

Punishment

VB punish, chastise, chasten, castigate, correct, inflict punishment, administer correction, deal retributive justice, cowhide, lambaste, visit upon, pay, pay out, serve out, do for, make short work of, give a lesson to, serve one right, make an example of, have a rod in pickle for, give it one, strike, deal a blow to, administer the lash, smite, slap, slap the face, smack, cuff, box the ears, spank, thwack, thump, beat, lay on, swinge, buffet, thresh, thrash, pummel, drub, leather, trounce, sandbag, baste, belabor, lace, lace one's jacket, dress, dress down, give a dressing, trim, warm, wipe, tund, cob, bang, strap, comb, lash, lick, larrup, wallop, whop, flog, scourge, whip, birch, cane, give the stick, switch, flagellate, horsewhip, bastinado, towel, rub down with an oaken towel, rib roast, dust one's jacket, fustigate, pitch into, lay about one, beat black and blue, beat to a mummy, beat to a jelly, give a black eye, tar and feather, pelt, stone, lapidate, masthead, keelhaul, execute, bring to the block, bring to the gallows, behead, decapitate, guillotine, decollate, hang, turn off, gibbet, bowstring, hang draw and quarter, shoot, decimate, burn, break on the wheel, crucify, empale, impale, flay, lynch, electrocute, gas, send to the gas chamber, torture, put on, put to the rack, picket, banish, exile, transport, expel, ostracize, rusticate, drum out, dismiss, disbar, disbench, strike off the roll, unfrock, post, suffer, suffer for, suffer punishment, be flogged, be executed, suffer the ultimate penalty, be hanged, come to the gallows, mount the gallows, swing, twist in the wind, dance upon nothing, die in one's shoes, be rightly served, be electrocuted, fry, ride the lightning, face the firing squad.

Divestment

VB divest, uncover &c (cover), denude, bare, strip, disfurnish, undress, disrobe &c (dress, enrobe), uncoif, dismantle, put off, take off, cast off, doff, peel, pare, decorticate, excoriate, skin, scalp, flay, expose, lay open, exfoliate, molt, mew, cast the skin.