▪ I. flare, n.1
(flɛə(r))
Also (in sense 4) 9 flair.
[f. flare v. Not in Johnson or Todd.]
1. a. The action or quality of flaring, or giving forth a dazzling and unsteady light; dazzling but irregular light, like that of torches; a sudden outburst of flame. Also fig. Obtrusive display, ostentation, etc.; spec., a sudden or loud noise, a fanfare.
| 1814 Scott Ld. of Isles i. xxviii, Lighted by the torches' flare. 1834 Dickens Let. 3 Sept. (1965) I. 40 An unpremeditated flare at the English Opera House last night with the ladies. 1837 Carlyle Fr. Rev. (1857) I. i. iii. viii. 80 Gardes Suisses: marching..in the flare of torchlight. 1848 Thackeray Van. Fair xix, We should all come home after the flare, and the noise, and the gayety. 1888 Pall Mall G. 6 Sept. 8/2 Flares of dazzling crimson and purple shot up from the mouth of the crater. 1888 Sci. Amer. N.S. LVIII. 21 Too modest for business push and flare. 1916 E. Pound Lustra 97 Since he died My wit and worth are cobwebs brushed aside In the full flare of grief. 1928 Daily Tel. 17 Jan. 10/7 After the service was over, amid a flare of trumpets, the procession returned through the Cathedral. 1946 Mezzrow & Wolfe Really Blues xv. 264 Flares were always in the right places, to help build up the pulse. 1962 A. Nisbett Technique Sound Studio 242 s.v. Bass, The most efficient way of producing bass is an acoustic exponential horn, preferably with a low rate of flare. |
b. Astr. A sudden increase in brightness of part of the sun as seen at certain visible and ultra-violet wavelengths. Also solar flare.
| 1937 News Service Bull., School Ed. (Carnegie Inst. Washington) 24 Oct. 153/3 Bright flares of hydrogen light were visible on the Sun. Ibid., It is believed that all of these fade-outs occur simultaneously with solar eruptions—absence of solar observations some times accounting for the failure of any astronomer to report observation of a flare. 1956 H. S. Jones in A. Pryce-Jones New Outl. Mod. Knowl. 121 A violent disturbance will not infrequently occur, in which a localized region of the Sun becomes intensely bright. Coincident with this eruption or flare, as it is termed, there is a sudden and complete fading on short-wave radio transmissions in channels passing over the sunlit face of the Earth. 1963 H. J. & E. v. P. Smith Solar Flares p. xii, Flares occur in the solar atmosphere and are closely associated with sunspots and other aspects of solar activity. |
c. Astr. Any sudden and short-lived increase in the overall brightness of a star other than the sun. So flare star, a star in which flares occur from time to time.
| 1949 Publ. Astron. Soc. Pacific LXI. 179 The plate with the Selected Area shows the star in the process of one of its flares. 1951 Ibid. LXIII. 142 Krüger 60 B..is the only flare star for which the mass is known. 1956 C. Payne-Gaposchkin Introd. Astron. xi. 264 A solar flare brightens the whole light of the sun only slightly, but on a cool star a flare may more than double the star's total brightness. 1964 New Scientist 19 Mar. 760/1 A flare star is a particular type of variable star which produces an almost undetectable burst of radio emission at the same time as it flares up to become visually brighter. |
2. Naut. a. = flare-up 3. Also in military, aeronautical, and general use; also attrib. (see quots. 1918 and 1956 and flare path). b. A combustible made to be burnt as a night-signal at sea, and formerly as a railway fog-signal.
| 1883 W. C. Russell Sailor's Lang. 52 Flare, a light made by firing a tar-barrel, etc. 1883 Fisheries Exhib. Catal. 41 Boat Launching Flare. 1885 Law Times Rep. LIII. 60/1 The I.C.U...burnt flares over her quarter. 1887 Pall Mall G. 10 Jan., ‘Flares’ were burned for the purpose of warning the drivers of trains. 1889 W. Rye Cromer 10 ‘Flares’ are burned sometimes to warn mariners on bad nights. 1912 Aeroplane 5 Dec. 565/1 Were the flares lighted in order that our own airship should know where to alight? 1915 Times 14 Apr. 7/6 The enemy fires some flares across to us, and this is a good sign, for it shows they are afraid of an attack from us. 1916 ‘Boyd Cable’ Action Front 48 Magnesium flares. 1918 E. S. Farrow Dict. Mil. Terms 235 Flare, an unsteady, dazzling light used as an illumination and in signaling: in aëronautics, a guide for landing. Flare lights, lights used in combination with obstacles, either protected or screened, to prevent the enemy removing them. They are screened in rear so that the defenders may remain in shadow. Flare pistol, a large pistol, which looks like a sawed-off shot⁓gun, from which flares are fired. 1925 N. E. Odell in E. F. Norton Fight for Everest, 1924 134 We watched till late that night for some signs of Mallory and Irvine's return, or even an indication by flare of distress. 1941 Times Weekly 15 Oct. 6 Flares dropped by British air⁓craft hung almost stationary in the air, causing a bright glow over the French coast. 1942 Aeroplane Spotter 23 Apr. 101 Flare chutes. 1943 T. Horsley Find, Fix & Strike 81 In conjunction with dive bombing, and collateral with it, their [Albacores'] suitability as flare droppers was equally well marked. 1944 Conc. Oxf. Dict. Add., Flare,..container of combustible material, dropped from aircraft to illuminate target area etc. 1956 W. A. Heflin U.S.A.F. Dict. 208/1 Flare chute, a parachute attached to a flare for letting the flare down slowly. 1965 Observer 11 July 1/1 American ‘flare-ship’ aircraft..continually illuminated our positions at night. |
3. Photogr. (See quot. 1968). Also, a similar appearance in the object-glass of a telescope.
| 1867 Sutton & Dawson Dict. Photogr. (ed. 2) 119 Flare, stray light falling upon the sensitive plate during its exposure in the camera. When certain forms of double or triple compound lenses are used, and the camera is turned towards a strong light,..a circular spot of flare is sometimes seen in the centre of the ground glass. 1868 Lea Photogr. 88 Flare or ghost in the camera is an indistinct image of the diaphragm. 1878 Lockyer Stargazing ii. xi. 140 A ‘flare’ appearing, shows a want of a slight alteration of the setting screw, on the same side of the object-glass as the ‘flare’ or elongation appears. 1968 Gloss. Terms Offset Lithogr. Printing (B.S.I.) 14 Flare, non-image light that reaches the light-sensitive material in the camera, usually caused by surface reflections in the optical system, extraneous light and/or reflection from sources other than the original. 1971 Amateur Photographer 13 Jan. 54/1 Of his dozen or so entries about 10 were ruined because of considerable flare—caused by internal lens reflections. |
4. a. Shipbuilding. Gradual swell or bulging outwards and upwards. Cf. flare v. 4.
| 1833 T. Richardson Merc. Marine Archit. 1 To give them more flair in the stem-head. 1882 Payne-Gallwey Fowler in Irel. 25 The sides are nearly upright with little flare. |
b. transf. A gradual widening or spreading outwards; also, that part which spreads. Also attrib. In pl., flared trousers (orig. U.S.).
| a 1910 ‘O. Henry’ Trimmed Lamp (1916) 8 Her skirt is shoddy, but has the correct flare. 1916 Stanford & Forsyth Hist. Music 186 The shawm-player prefers to place his lips..on the widened rim or ‘flare’ at the top of the pipe. 1929 Star 21 Aug. 2/4 Cut..with the new smart waist line and full flare skirt. 1964 N.Y. Post 10 Nov. 72 (Advt.), Belted coats, skimmers, flares, demi-fits, the ‘in’ silhouettes for dress and casual wear! 1970 Toronto Daily Star 24 Sept. 19/1 (Advt.), Flares..cords..denim bells. 1973 To our Returned Prisoners of War (U.S. Office of Secretary of Defense) 4 Flares, pants which widen as they get to the ankle. Almost like the Navy Bell Bottoms. 1985 S. Lowry Young Fogey Handbk. vi. 52 The rest of the male world sported peach cord flares. |
c. = flare-out 2.
| 1967 J. Fay Helicopter (ed. 2) viii. 120 Whereas at high speed a flare could..produce a momentary climb the only practical result of a flare at low speed would be to change the fuselage attitude. 1967 D. P. Davies Handling Big Jets vii. 213 Keep the stabiliser in trim so that full elevator effectiveness is available for the flare. 1969 I. Kemp Brit. G.I. in Vietnam iii. 53 Gradually the nose came up and our speed dropped until we were barely moving forward and beginning to go into a ‘flare’—that is when the helicopter's nose is up and the tail down, just before she starts to hover. |
5. attrib. and Comb., as flare-light; also flare-lamp, a lamp with an unprotected flame; flare-spot (= sense 3); flare-tin, a tin vessel in which powder or other combustible material is burnt as a signal at sea.
| 1891 R. Kipling City Dreadf. Nt. 83 We don't know what fire-damp is here. We can use the *flare-lamps. |
| 1894 Westm. Gaz. 1 Dec. 6/3 A *flare light was observed from the barque. |
| 1893 Abney Photogr. xxxi. (ed. 8) 219 *‘Flare spot.’ |
| 1884 W. C. Russell Jack's Courtsh. III. xiii, There was a *flare-tin aboard, and from time to time we burnt this over the rail. |
▪ II. flare, n.2 dial.
(flɛə(r))
[Of unknown origin; cf. the synonymous fleed.]
The ‘leaf’ or fat about the kidneys of a pig. Also attrib.
| 1847 Halliwell, Flare, fat round a pig's kidney. 1851 Mayhew Lond. Labour I. 199 Flare-cakes..are round cakes, made of flour and ‘unrendered’ (unmelted) lard, and stuck over freely with currants. 1881 Oxfordsh. Gloss. Suppl., Fleeurn, the leaf of a pig (Holton), fleeur (Yarnton.) 1888 Lond. Tradesm. Advt. This Lard..is made from the best Pork Flare only. |
▪ III. flare, n.3
var. of flair n.2, the skate.
▪ IV. flare, v.
(flɛə(r))
Also 6 fleare; 7 flaire, 7–9 flair.
[Of unknown etymology; the mod.Norw. flara ‘to blaze, to flaunt in gaudy attire’ (Ivar Aasen) has been compared; but sense 5, with which this agrees, is app. a somewhat late development.]
1. trans. † a. To spread out (hair); to display in an expanded form. Also with out. Obs.
| c 1550 Robin Conscience 289 in Hazl. E.E.P. III. 244 To dye and to fleare your haire so abroad..you doo it shamfully use. 1553 Becon Jewel Joy J vj b, It is inough for chast and pure maydes to weare..simple apparell..wythout the flaringe out and coleryng of theyr heare. |
b. To spread out to view, display; occas. with mixture of sense 5. Hence, To wave to and fro (or round). to flare a handkerchief (slang): to whisk it out of a person's pocket.
| a 1774 Goldsm. Surv. Exp. Philos. (1776) II. 182 In seeing a flaming torch, if flared round in a circle, it appears as a ring of fire. 1838 Poe A.G. Pym Wks. 1864 IV. 116 We..began instantly to make every signal in our power, by flaring the shirts in the air. 1851 Mayhew Lond. Labour I. 411/1 Just after that I flared it (whisked the handkerchief out). 1862 Burton Bk. Hunter (1863) 292 Those who flare their qualities before the world. 1884 F. J. Britten Watch & Clockm. 96 Hardening the drill by flaring it in the air. |
† 2. intr. Of hair, etc.: To spread out conspicuously, to stream or wave in the wind. Obs.
| 1579–80 North Plutarch (1676) 667 This Lady..shewing her mourning Apparell, and hair of her head flaring about her eyes. 1598 Shakes. Merry W. iv. vi. 42 Ribonds⁓pendant, flaring 'bout her head. 1602 Marston Antonio's Rev. iii. ii, Let flare my loosed hair. 1676 Hobbes Iliad (1677) 336 His plume by Vulcan made of golden hair..ore his shoulders terribly did flare. 1837 Cooper Recoll. Europe II. 131 Her cap flared in the wind. |
† 3. To display oneself conspicuously. Obs.
| 1633 T. Adams Exp. 2 Peter i. 6 The daughters of Moab and Midian..light housewives, dancing, frisking, and flaring. 1709 Prior Hans Carvel 90 The Truth is this I cannot stay Flaring in Sun-shine all the Day. |
4. a. intr. Of the sides of a vessel: To swell or bulge out gradually upwards; also, to flare over.
| 1644 Sea-man's Dict. 40 When a ship is a little howled in neere the water, and above that the work doth hang over againe..they say, that the worke doth Flaire over. 1836 W. Irving Astoria (1849) 86 Their gunwales flare outwards. 1883 Harper's Mag. July 934/2 It will be best to have the sides of our oblong diving-bell flare a little. |
b. trans. To cause to spread gradually outwards.
| 1857 Colquhoun Compl. Oarsman's Guide 1 A skiff..can be more conveniently flared, which gives buoyancy. 1858 Maury Phys. Geog. Sea ii. §61 These pipes are then flared out so as to present a large cooling surface. 1888 Woodgate Boating 143 The gunwale was..flared out wide at these points. |
c. intr. To open or spread outwards, as the sides of a bowl, a skirt, the mouth of a horn.
| 1835 C. F. Hoffman Winter in Far West II. 246 Finally, it [sc. the vault] flares upward, so that the edges of the arch lose themselves in the projecting face of the cliff. 1857, etc. [see flaring ppl. a. 3]. 1899 Daily News 27 Feb. 6/6 The fronts of the short coat flare open to show a gathered lace vest. 1930 Times 17 Mar. 15/6 A skirt slightly flared about the hem. 1968 J. Ironside Fashion Alphabet 44 A culotte skirt..is any divided skirt, though usually one flared from the hip. |
d. intr. To make the glide path of an aircraft about to land gradually less steep until it is parallel to the ground; to raise the nose of an aircraft when doing this; also trans., to cause (an aircraft) to descend in this way. Also with out.
| 1935 [implied at flared ppl. a. below]. 1944 W. Langewiesche Stick & Rudder xii. 216 Because of this steeper glide, the heavily wing-loaded ship has more upward turning to do in the flare-out. This makes it necessary to flare out even earlier, even higher. 1951 Jrnl. R. Aeronaut. Soc. LV. 526/1 The pilot shuts off power, glides down on to the deck, flares out just before contact. 1967 J. Fay Helicopter (ed. 2) viii. 120 Flaring, i.e...easing back on the stick and flattening the glide path. Ibid. 121 At high speed, the helicopter is flared gradually with the collective-pitch lever held down all the time. 1967 D. P. Davies Handling Big Jets vii. 213 From the threshold on, simply flare (if necessary), reduce to idle thrust, push off drift (if necessary), then land. 1969 I. Kemp Brit. G.I. in Vietnam iii. 72 Hayes followed the routine procedure of ‘flaring’ the helicopter before descent—letting the tail drop and the nose come up to reduce airspeed—and then dropping her vertically with the collective. |
5. a. intr. Of a candle, lamp, etc.: To burn with a spreading, unsteady flame, as when blown by the wind; to shine as such a flame does; to glow with or as with flame. Also with about, away, out, and quasi-trans. with cognate obj. to flare into: to pass with a flare into.
| 1632, 1633, 1661 [see flaring ppl. a.] a 1700 B. E. Dict. Cant. Crew, Flare, to Shine or glare like a Comet or Beacon. 1727 Bailey vol. II, Flaring, wasting or consuming wastfully; as a Candle. 1794 Mrs. Radcliffe Myst. Udolpho xxvi, The wind made the torch flare. 1801 Southey Thalaba xii. xviii, The unpruned taper flares a longer flame. 1819 Shelley Medusa 32 The midnight sky Flares. 1859 Tennyson Lancelot & Elaine 1020 Lo! the blood-red light of dawn Flared on her face. 1874 Green Short Hist. ii. §4. 72 Town and hamlet flaring into ashes. 1879 Beerbohm Patagonia viii. 132 The fire..flared away without emitting any warmth. |
| transf. and fig. 1837 J. H. Newman Par. Serm. (1839) I. xi. 165 Before the flame of religion in the heart is purified..it will flare about. 1868 Milman St. Paul's 305 The Queen's Protestant zeal flared out against these idolatrous images. 1871 R. Ellis Catullus lxviii. 141 Juno's self..Crushes her eager rage, in wedlock-injury flaring. 1876 Green Stray Stud. 3 A gilded vane flares out above the grey Jacobean gables. |
b. nonce-use (with on). To go emitting flames.
| 1820 Keats Hyperion i. 217 His flaming robes streamed out..On he flared, From stately nave to nave. |
c. trans. To light up with a flare. Also (causative) To cause (a candle) to burn with a flare. to flare out: to send forth by means of a flaring flame.
| 1745 E. Haywood Female Spect. (1748) III. 309 For fear of flaring or putting out his beloved lights. 1853 Kane Grinnell Exp. xxviii. (1856) 238 The south-western horizon is flared with red streaks. 1861 Dickens Gt. Expect. liii, He flared the candle at me again, smoking my face and hair. 1874 Green Short Hist. vii. §6. 409 The English beacons flared out their alarm along the coast. |
6. to flare up: a. to burst into a sudden and temporary blaze; also fig. Hence of persons: b. to break out into sudden anger; Also with out, quasi-trans. with quoted words. (Cf. flare-out 1.) c. to have a ‘jollification’, make merry boisterously.
| a. 1846 Thackeray Crit. Rev. Wks. 1886. XXIII. 99 Is a man..to despond because he can't in his person flare up like the sun? 1867 Smiles Huguenots Eng. 428 They [persecutions] flared up again..with increased fury. 1886 Sir F. Doyle Remin. 388 The grass suddenly flared up. |
| b. 1840 Mrs. Carlyle Lett. 5 Oct. (1883) I. 119 It is just because I love you..that I flare up when [etc.]. 1870 Mrs. J. H. Riddell Austin Friars iv, You flare up like a bull at sight of a red cloak. 1907 Smart Set Feb. 95 ‘Your name is Ougheltree,’ he suddenly flared out. |
| c. 1869 C. Keene Let. in G. S. Layard Life vi. (1892) 138 We flared up again last night, and hailed the New Year with the usual ceremonies. |
Hence flared ppl. a.
| 1928 Daily Mail 31 July 1/2 Delightful Lace Tunic with the new Flared Skirt. 1935 Jrnl. R. Aeronaut. Soc. XXXIX. 863 Unexpectedly high lift and drag force coefficients were developed in the latter stages of the flared landings. |