flemish

adj

1. Of or relating to Flanders, either as the historical county of Flanders (the current provinces of West Flanders and East Flanders in Belgium, Zeelandic Flanders in the Netherlands and French Flanders); or as the Dutch-speaking region of Belgium.

   “But Wallonian legislators are blocking the changes, fearing that their power is eroding, that the Flemish are doing some legal ethnic cleansing and that a divided Belgium will end the subsidies that flow south from richer Flanders.”

   “[…] 1302, in which Flemish farmers and civilians armed with goedendags stand in battle formation. The goedendags resemble long clubs, but they have a much wider beating ring around the top and it is possible that a daring combatant […]”

2. Of or relating to the Belgian standard variety of the Dutch language.
3. Of or relating to West Flemish, East Flemish and/or French Flemish dialects of Dutch.

name

1. Standard Dutch as it is spoken in Flanders.
2. West Flemish, East Flemish and/or French Flemish dialects of Dutch.

noun

1. (abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis)Ellipsis of Flemish coil (“a rope that has been arranged into a neat, flat spiral coil”).

   “Frequently fancy Flemishes are made, for example, with a regular Flemish coil in the center and the rest of the line placed in various shapes about it but always so as to retain the appearance of a mat.”

   “A coiled, faked, or flemished down line is said to be laid up in coils, fakes, or flemishes.”

verb

1. (transitive)Often followed by down: to arrange (a rope) into a neat, flat spiral coil.

   “In about twenty minutes, after the messenger had been stowed away, the cables coiled in the tiers, and the ropes flemished down on deck, the captain made his appearance, and directed the first-lieutenant to send aft the newly impressed men.”

   “When great neatness is desired a line is flemished down. Successive circles of the line are wrapped about each other with the free end at the center. When it is finished it looks like a mat and with an old piece of line can be used as one. […] If a line is flemished down and left on a deck for some time it will mark the deck as well as remain wet on the under side, and therefore deteriorate. On small boats lines are usually either coiled down or flemished down.”

   “The two Swedish sailors on deck, lounging and spitting into the water, seemed not to have been kept up to their duties, for paint work and bright work were far from brilliant, and the ropes were badly pointed and flemished.”