flange

English

WOTD – 28 September 2009

Etymology

Flanges (ribs or rims)

Flanges on railway wheels keep the wheels on the track.

From dialectal English flange (“to project”), flanch (“a projection”), from Middle French flanche, from Old French flanche (“flank, side”), from Frankish *hlanka, from Proto-Germanic *hlankō (“bend, curve; side, flank”). See flank. As a term for a group of baboons, it was popularized in the comedy TV series Not the Nine O'Clock News.

Pronunciation

• (UK, US) IPA^(key): /flænd͡ʒ/

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ændʒ

Noun

flange (plural flanges)

1. An external or internal rib or rim, used either to add strength or to hold something in place.
2. The projecting edge of a rigid or semi-rigid component.
3. (roleplaying games) An ability in a role-playing game which is not commonly available, overpowered or arbitrarily imposed by the referees.
   • 1998, Mr MI Pennington, “Can the Players be Trusted?”, in rec.games.frp.live-action‎^[1] (Usenet):

     [The] enduring problem with the Gathering is that [players] can't affect anything that happens ... whatever they do, the LT just flange it back to the original plot line.

   • 2007, "balor", Changing the metaphysics on Rule 7 [2]

     'Oh look, the amulet of flange has been activated, this means all Paladins now only have one heal per day instead of two.'

4. (vulgar, slang) The vulva.
   • 2001, tedfat, “Flange!!!!”, in alt.society.nottingham‎^[3] (Usenet):

     I was in bed the other day with the missus and I asked to see her flange. Imagine my surprise when she got up went downstairs to my toolbox and brought me up a metal looking object called a flange!!!!! Needless to say when she asked to see my nuts the next time I obliged by doing exactly the same as her.

   • 2003, Ray Gordon, Hot Sheets‎^[4]:

     'God, she's got a tight flange!' the plumber gasped, splaying the girl's buttocks and focusing on her O-ring.

5. (rare, humorous) The collective noun for a group of baboons.

   Synonyms: troop, congress

   • 1980s (first use), Not the Nine O'clock News, Rowan Atkinson (actor):

     it's a flange of baboons

   • 2006, Rick Crosier, Getting Away with Murder‎^[5]:

     I suspect they hired a flange of baboons to mind the house.

6. The electronic sound distortion produced by a flanger.

Derived terms

• flange greaser
• flange lubricator
• flange oiler

Translations

rib or rim for strengthening

• Bulgarian: борд (bg) m (bord), фланец (bg) m (flanec)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 法蘭片 / 法兰片

• Czech: příruba (cs) f
• Danish: flange c
• Dutch: flens (nl) m, richel (nl) f
• Esperanto: flanĝo
• Finnish: laippa (fi)
• French: bride (fr) f
• German: Flansch (de) m, Rippe (de) f, Sicke (de) f, Kranz (de) m, Radkranz m, Spurkranz m, Gurt (de) m, Bund (de) m, Felgenhorn n, Bördel m
• Italian: flangia (it) f
• Norwegian: flens m
• Portuguese: borda (pt) f
• Russian: фла́нец (ru) m (flánec)
• Spanish: pestaña (es) f; reborde (es) m; patín (es) m
• Swedish: fläns (sv) c
• Tagalog: labi (tl)

projecting edge

• Bulgarian: ръб (bg) m (rǎb), борд (bg) m (bord)
• Finnish: reunus (fi), laippa (fi)
• German: Kante (de) f, Rand (de) m, Rippe (de) f, Bund (de) m, Felgenhorn n, Bördel m, Stutzen (de) m
• Irish: sceimheal f
• Macedonian: прира́бница (mk) f (prirábnica)
• Maori: ngutu
• Spanish: pestaña (es) f, refuerzo (es) m

ability in a role-playing game

vulva — see vulva

group of baboons

• Finnish: lauma (fi)

Verb

flange (third-person singular simple present flanges, present participle flanging, simple past and past participle flanged)

1. (intransitive) To be bent into a flange.
2. (transitive, mechanics) To make a flange on; to furnish with a flange; to bend (esp. sheet metal) in the form of a flange.
3. (transitive, sound engineering) To mix two copies of together, one delayed by a very short, slowly varying time.

Trivia

• No other common English word rhymes with /-ændʒ/.

Anagrams

• fangle

Danish

Etymology

From English flange.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /flanɡsjɘ/, [ˈflɑŋɕɘ]

Noun

flange c (singular definite flangen, plural indefinite flanger)

1. flange (external or internal rib or rim)

Inflection

Declension of flange

common gender	Singular		Plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	flange	flangen	flanger	flangerne
genitive	flanges	flangens	flangers	flangernes

Italian

Alternative forms

• flangie (misspelling)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈflan.d͡ʒe/
• Rhymes: -andʒe
• Hyphenation: flàn‧ge

Noun

flange f pl

1. plural of flangia