- lash (n.)
- c. 1300, las "a blow, a stroke," later "flexible part of a whip" (late 14c.), possibly imitative; compare lash (v.1), which might be the immediate source of this. Century Dictionary says Irish lasg "a lash, whip, whipping" is of English origin. The lash "punishment by flogging" is from 1690s.
- lash (v.2)
- "to tie or bind," as with rope or cord, 1620s, originally nautical, from Middle French lachier, from Old French lacier "to lace on, fasten with laces; entrap, ensnare" (see lace (v.)). Related: Lashed; lashing.
- lash (v.1)
- c. 1300, "to deal a blow;" later "to strike with a whip, beat with a lash" (late 14c.), possibly imitative. To lash out "to strike out violently" (originally of horses) is from 1560s and preserves the older sense. Related: Lashed; lashing.
