Flint

Pronunciation

• IPA: /flɪnt/
• Rhymes: -ɪnt

Origin

Old English flint, from Proto-Germanic *flintaz (compare Middle Dutch vlint, Old High German flins, Danish flint), from Proto-Indo-European *splind- ("to split, cleave") (compare Irish slinn ("slate, shingle"), Ancient Greek πλίνθος), from *(s)plei- ("to split"). More at split.

Full definition of flint

Noun

1. A hard, fine-grained quartz that fractures conchoidally and generates sparks when struck.
2. A piece of flint, such as a gunflint, used to produce a spark.
3. A small cylinder of some other material of the same function in a cigarette lighter, etc.

Derived terms

• gunflint

Verb

1. (transitive) To furnish or decorate an object with flint.