From Middle English flawme, blend of Old French flame and flambe, flamble, the first from Latin flamma, the second from Latin flammula, diminutive of flamma, both from pre-Latin *fladma; itc-pro *flagmā, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰel-.

• enPR: flām, IPA: /fleɪm/

flame

1. The visible part of fire; a stream of burning vapour or gas, emitting light and heat.
   • 1907 August, Robert W[illiam] Chambers, chapter III, in The Younger Set, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLC ↗:

     Long after his cigar burnt bitter, he sat with eyes fixed on the blaze. When the flames at last began to flicker and subside, his lids fluttered, then drooped; but he had lost all reckoning of time when he opened them again to find Miss Erroll in furs and ball-gown kneeling on the hearth […].

2. A romantic partner or lover in a usually short-lived but passionate affair.

   Synonyms: Thesaurus:lover

   • 1844 January–December, W[illiam] M[akepeace] Thackeray, “Conclusion”, in “The Memoirs of Barry Lyndon, Esq. [The Luck of Barry Lyndon.]”, in Miscellanies: Prose and Verse, volume III, London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1856, →OCLC ↗:

     I could copy out yards of rhapsody to Lord George Poynings, her old flame, in which she addressed him by the most affectionate names.

3. (Internet, somewhat, dated) An aggressively insulting criticism or remark.
4. A brilliant reddish orange-gold fiery colour.
    
5. (music, chiefly, lutherie) The contrasting light and dark figure seen in wood used for stringed instrument making; the curl.

   The cello has a two-piece back with a beautiful narrow flame.

6. Burning zeal, passion, imagination, excitement, or anger.
   • 1667, John Milton, “Book V”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC ↗; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC ↗:

     in a flame of zeal severe

   • 1717, Alexander Pope, “Eloisa to Abelard”, in The Works of Mr. Alexander Pope, volume (please specify |volume=I or II), London: […] W[illiam] Bowyer, for Bernard Lintot, […], published 1717, →OCLC ↗:

     where flames refin'd in breasts seraphic glow

   • 1834, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Julia:

     Till charming Florio, born to conquer, came
     And touch'd the fair one with an equal flame

7. (obsolete, botany) A variety of carnation.

• flamboyant
• flamingo
• flammable
• oriflamme
• phlegm
• phlogiston
• phlogopite
• phlox

• French: flamme
• German: Flamme, (archaic, poetic) Lohe
• Italian: fiamma
• Portuguese: chama, flama
• Russian: пла́мя
• Spanish: flama, llama

• German: Flamme
• Italian: fiamma
• Russian: страсть

• French: polémique
• Italian: flame
• Russian: флейм

flame (flames, present participle flaming; simple past and past participle flamed)

1. To produce flames; to burn with a flame or blaze.
   • c. 1608–1609 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedy of Coriolanus”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC ↗, [Act IV, scene iii]:

     The main blaze of it is past, but a small thing would make it flame again.

2. To burst forth like flame; to break out in violence of passion; to be kindled with zeal or ardour.
   • 1849–1861, Thomas Babington Macaulay, chapter 2, in The History of England from the Accession of James the Second, volume (please specify |volume=I to V), London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, →OCLC ↗:

     He flamed with indignation.

3. (Internet, ambitransitive) To post a destructively critical or abusive message (to somebody).

   I flamed him for spamming in my favourite newsgroup.

   • 2001, w:Jonathan Franzen, The Corrections:

     If he got flamed for his lies or his ignorance, he simply moved to another chat room.

   • 2019, Steven McCornack, Kelly Morrison, Reflect & Relate, 5th edition:

     Because online communication makes it easy to flame, many of us impetuously fire off messages that we later regret.

• flambé

• Italian: fiammeggiare, infiammare
• Portuguese: inflamar
• Russian: пыла́ть

• German: anmachen
• Italian: flammare
• Russian: флеймить

flame (not comparable)

1. Of a brilliant reddish orange-gold colour, like that of a flame.