floc

English

Alternative forms

• flocc

Etymology

From Latin floccus (“tuft of wool”), or from French floc (“floc”), from the same Latin source.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /flɒk/
• Homophone: flock

Noun

floc (countable and uncountable, plural flocs)

1. A floccule; a soft or fluffy particle suspended in a liquid, or the fluffy mass of suspended particles so formed.
   • 2005 February 27, Fred A. Bernstein, “In My Backyard, Please: The Infrastructure Beautiful Movement”, in The New York Times‎:

     It might seem that Mr. Holl, whose initial sketches are glorious watercolors, was an unlikely candidate for a job that is all about hydrodynamics. But he credits much of his inspiration to repeated meetings with engineers -- as many as 30 at a time -- to discuss topics like "flocculation" (the process by which particles form coagulated masses, or flocs).

2. (informal) A flocculant, as used in swimming pools to make particles clump together so they are trapped by the filter.
   • 2023, Kristine Blanchard, Pool Care For Dummies, page 291:

     This can happen for a few reasons, such as adding too much floc or adding too much algaecide prior to floccing.

Verb

floc (third-person singular simple present flocs, present participle floccing, simple past and past participle flocced)

1. (informal) To use a flocculant in (a swimming pool).
   • 2023, Kristine Blanchard, Pool Care For Dummies, page 291:

     This can happen for a few reasons, such as adding too much floc or adding too much algaecide prior to floccing.

Anagrams

• FCOL, OFLC

Catalan

Etymology

From Latin floccus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic, Valencia) [ˈflɔk]

• Audio (Barcelona):

  (file)

Noun

floc m (plural flocs)

1. tuft, lock (a bunch of feathers, hair, or grass held together at the base)
2. flake of snow

Derived terms

• flocadura

Further reading

• “floc”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007
• “floc”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2025
• “floc” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “floc” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

Dalmatian

Alternative forms

• flok

Etymology

From Latin floccus.

Noun

floc m

1. flock, tuft
2. flake

French

Pronunciation

• Audio (France (Vosges)):

  (file)

Interjection

floc

1. splosh; plop

Further reading

• “floc”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Middle English

Noun

floc

1. alternative form of flok

Old English

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *flōk, from Proto-Germanic *flōką, from Proto-Indo-European *pleh₂- (“flat, broad”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /floːk/

Noun

flōc n

1. flatfish, flounder

Descendants

• Middle English: floke, fluke, flewke
  • English: fluke
  • Scots: fluke, fluik

References

• Joseph Bosworth; T. Northcote Toller (1898), “FLÓC”, in An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, second edition, Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Romanian

Etymology

Inherited from Latin floccus.

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -ok

Noun

floc m (plural floci) floc n (plural floace)

1. floc, floccule
2. tuft (of hair)
3. flock (of wool)
4. (colloquial, vulgar) pubic hair

Declension

Masculine:

Declension of floc

	singular			plural
	indefinite	definite		indefinite	definite
nominative-accusative	floc	flocul		floci	flocii
genitive-dative	floc	flocului		floci	flocilor
vocative	flocule			flocilor

Neuter:

Declension of floc

	singular			plural
	indefinite	definite		indefinite	definite
nominative-accusative	floc	flocul		floace	floacele
genitive-dative	floc	flocului		floace	floacelor
vocative	flocule			floacelor

Related terms

• flocos

See also

• miță
• smoc
• șuviță
• fulg