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Origin and history of flaming

flaming(adj.)

late 14c., "flame-like in appearance;" c. 1400, "on fire," present-participle adjective from flame (v.). Meaning "of bright or gaudy colors" is from mid-15c. As an intensifying adjective, late 19c. Meaning "glaringly homosexual" is homosexual slang, 1970s (along with flamer (n.) "conspicuously homosexual man"); but flamer "glaringly conspicuous person or thing" (1809) and flaming "glaringly conspicuous" (1781) are much earlier in a general sense, both originally with reference to "wenches." Related: Flamingly.

also from late 14c.

Entries linking to flaming

flame(v.)

Middle English flaumen, also flaumben, flomben, flamben, flamen, flammen, c. 1300 (implied in flaming "to shine (like fire), gleam, sparkle like flames;" mid-14c. as "emit flames, be afire, to blaze," from Anglo-French flaumer, flaumber (Old French flamber) "burn, be on fire, be alight" (intransitive), from flamme "a flame" (see flame (n.)).

Transitive meaning "to burn, set on fire" is from 1580s. Meaning "break out in violence of passion" is from 1540s; the sense of "unleash invective on a computer network" is from 1980s. Related: Flamed; flaming. To flame out, in reference to jet engines, is from 1950.

flamer(n.)

1590s, agent noun from flame (v.). Figurative sense "glaringly conspicuous person" is from 1809. For homosexual slang sense, see flaming.

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    fire
    Old English fyr "fire, a fire," from Proto-Germanic *fūr- (source also of Old Saxon fiur, Old Frisian fiur, Old Norse fürr, Middle Dutch and Dutch vuur, Old High German fiur, German Feuer "fire"), from PIE *perjos, from root *paewr- "fire." Current spelling is attested as early a
    fiery
    late 13c., "flaming, full of fire," from Middle English fier "fire" (see fire (n.)) + -y (2). The spelling is a relic of one of the attempts to render Old English "y" in fyr in a changing system of vowel sounds. Other Middle English spellings include firi, furi, fuiri, vuiri, fer
    unappeasable
    Desolate winds that cry over the wandering sea; Desolate winds that hover in the flaming West; Desolate winds that beat...
    flamboyant
    .-16c. architectural style with wavy, flame-like curves, from French flamboyant "flaming, wavy," present participle of flamboyer...
    seraph
    Seraphs were traditionally regarded as burning or flaming angels, though the word seems to have some etymological sense of...
    typhoon
    His brutish ass-head touched the stars, his vast wings darkened the sun, fire flashed from his eyes, and flaming rocks hurtled...
    shine
    Middle English shinen, from Old English scinan "shed, send forth, or give out light; be radiant, be resplendent, illuminate," of persons, "be conspicuous" (class I strong verb; past tense scan, past participle scinen). This is reconstructed to be from Proto-Germanic *skeinanan (s
    ignition
    1610s, "act of heating to the point of combustion," from French ignition or directly from Medieval Latin ignitionem (nominative ignitio), noun of action from past-participle stem of Latin ignire "set on fire," from ignis "fire" (see igneous). Meaning "means of sparking a fire" (o
    chastise
    "to inflict pain upon to punish and recall to duty, to punish for the purpose of correcting or reclaiming," c. 1300, chastisen, from Old French chastiier "to warn, advise, instruct; chastise, admonish; punish; dominate, tame" (12c., Modern French châtier), from Latin castigare "t
    rife
    Old English rife "abundant, of common occurrence, prevalent," often of hurtful or obnoxious things, from Proto-Germanic *rif- (source also of Old Norse rifr, Swedish river, Norwegian riv, Middle Dutch riif, Middle Low German rive "abundant, generous"), said to be from PIE root *r

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