flange

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.

• (UK, US) IPA^(key): /flænd͡ʒ/

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ændʒ

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, collective) 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.

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.

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

• fangle

From English flange.

• IPA^(key): /flanɡsjɘ/, [ˈflɑŋɕɘ]

flange c (singular definite flangen, plural indefinite flanger)

1. flange (external or internal rib or rim)

• flangie (misspelling)

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

flange f pl

1. plural of flangia