flaw

Etymology 1

From Middle English flawe, flay (“a flake of fire or snow, spark, splinter”), probably from Old Norse flaga (“a flag or slab of stone, flake”), from Proto-Germanic *flagō (“a layer of soil”), from Proto-Indo-European *plāk- (“broad, flat”). Cognate with Icelandic flaga (“flake”), Swedish flaga (“flake, scale”), Danish flage (“flake”), Middle Low German vlage (“a layer of soil”), Old English flōh (“a frament, piece”).

noun

1. (obsolete) A flake, fragment, or shiver.
2. (obsolete) A thin cake, as of ice.
3. A crack or breach, a gap or fissure; a defect of continuity or cohesion.
   There is a flaw in that knife.
   That vase has a flaw.
4. A defect, fault, or imperfection, especially one that is hidden.
   1. (in particular) An inclusion, stain, or other defect of a diamond or other gemstone.
   2. (law) A defect or error in a contract or other document which may make the document invalid or ineffective.
      a flaw in a will, in a deed, or in a statute

verb

1. (transitive) To add a flaw to, to make imperfect or defective.
2. (intransitive) To become imperfect or defective; to crack or break.

Etymology 2

From Middle English *flaugh, from Middle Dutch vlāghe or Middle Low German vlāge, ultimately from Proto-West Germanic *flagā. Or, possibly of North Germanic origin, from Swedish flaga (“gust of wind”), from Old Norse flaga; all from Proto-Germanic *flagǭ (“blow, strike”). See modern Dutch vlaag (“gust of wind”).

noun

1. A sudden burst or gust of wind of short duration; windflaw.
2. A storm of short duration.
3. A sudden burst of noise and disorder