v. (past sg.)
'fell in strands'
(Modern English )The root of this unusual v. is not known in OE, and it is always treated as a loan. Formally and for sense in the context of Cl 1689 (‘faxe fyltered and felt flossed hym vmbe’), the most plausible explanation is a borrowing from ON, where there is evidence for a PGmc stem *flus-, cp. OIcel flosna 'hang loose, wither' (thus Menner, Anderson) and the related fem. n. flosa 'slice, shell' (MED, followed by Vant). OED and GollCl are more unsure of the word, and their more speculative comparanda Icel flos 'nap of cloth', Dan flos 'plush' < OFr flosche 'pile of velvet' (as McGee (392) notes probably a late borrowing, however; see further Nielen, Mag.) are less convincing parallels (cp. also Morris, comparing Italian), requiring a rather forced extension of sense (GollCl glosses 'grew thickly') and a connection with OED s.v. floss n.2, which is not cited before the 18c.
PGmc Ancestor
*flus-
Proposed ON Etymon (OIcel representative)
cp. flosna 'hang loose, wither', flosa 'slice, shell'
(ONP flosna (vb.), flosa (sb.))
Other Scandinavian Reflexes
Far flosna, Icel flosna, Norw flosna; Icel flosa, Norw flose, flose
OE Cognate
Phonological and morphological markers
Summary category
D1c
The only other citation in MED is from c1400 Wit & W. (Cmb Res.b.162).
Occurrences in the Gersum Corpus
Cl 1689