flour

[flouuh r, flou-er] /flaʊər, ˈflaʊ ər/

noun

the finely ground meal of grain, especially the finer meal separated by bolting.

the finely ground and bolted meal of wheat, as that used in baking.

a finely ground, powdery foodstuff, as of dehydrated potatoes, fish, or bananas.

a fine, soft powder:

flour of emery.

verb (used with object)

to make (grain or the like) into flour; grind and bolt.

to sprinkle or dredge with flour:

Flour the chicken before frying.

verb (used without object)

(of mercury) to refuse to amalgamate with another metal because of some impurity of the metal; lie on the surface of the metal in the form of minute globules.

to disintegrate into minute particles.

Origin

1200-50; Middle English; special use of flower. Compare French fleur de farine the flower or finest part of the meal

Related forms

flourless, adjective

overflour, verb

unfloured, adjective

Can be confused

flour, flower.

Examples from the web for flour

Chickpea flour crêpes make great wrappers for all sorts of fillings.
Cut shortening into flour mixture until consistency resembles small peas.
It stocks a range of dry goods, but little variety: a single brand of rice, one of flour and three of shampoo.
Add the veal and sprinkle with flour and caraway seeds.
When you grind whole wheat into flour, you get the same blood sugar result as while flour.
Then the pieces were dipped into a vat of ceramic slurry-a suspension of silica flour and liquefied plastic.
Baking bread might be a relaxing weekend activity, but making the flour that goes into that bread is a dangerous business.
Correct way: lightly flour cube steaks and brown in a frying pan before placing them in the bottom of the crock pot.
Similarly, iron deficiency can be tackled by fortifying flour with iron.
Add salt and flour and mix thoroughly to eliminate lumps.

British Dictionary definitions for flour

flour

/ˈflaʊə/

noun

a powder, which may be either fine or coarse, prepared by sifting and grinding the meal of a grass, esp wheat

any finely powdered substance

verb

(transitive) to make (grain) into flour

(transitive) to dredge or sprinkle (food or cooking utensils) with flour

(of mercury) to break into fine particles on the surface of a metal rather than amalgamating, or to produce such an effect on (a metal). The effect is caused by impurities, esp sulphur

Derived Forms

floury, adjective

Word Origin

C13 flur finer portion of meal, flower

Word Origin and History for flour

early 13c., flur "flower" (see flower (n.)); meaning "finer portion of ground grain" is mid-13c., from the notion of flour as the "finest part" of meal (cf. French fleur de farine), as distinguished from the coarser parts (meal). Spelled flower until flour became the accepted form c.1830 to end confusion.

"to sprinkle with flour," 1650s, from flour (n.). Related: Floured; flouring.

flour in the Bible

Grain reduced to the form of meal is spoken of in the time of Abraham (Gen. 18:6). As baking was a daily necessity, grain was also ground daily at the mills (Jer. 25:10). The flour mingled with water was kneaded in kneading-troughs, and sometimes leaven (Ex. 12:34) was added and sometimes omitted (Gen. 19:3). The dough was then formed into thin cakes nine or ten inches in diameter and baked in the oven. Fine flour was offered by the poor as a sin-offering (Lev. 5:11-13), and also in connection with other sacrifices (Num. 15:3-12; 28:7-29).