# flannel

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈflænəl/ · frequency rank #22,973

## Definitions
1. A soft cloth material originally woven from wool, today often combined with cotton or synthetic fibers.
2. A washcloth.
3. A flannel shirt.
4. Soothing, plausible untruth or half-truth; claptrap.
5. Synonym of flip (“hot mixture of beer, spirit, etc.”).

## Etymology
From Middle English flaunneol, from Anglo-Norman flanelle (compare Norman flianné), diminutive of Old French flaine, floene (“coarse wool”), from Gaulish, from Proto-Celtic *wlānos, *wlanā (“wool”) (compare Welsh gwlân, Breton gloan), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂wĺ̥h₁neh₂. More at wool.

## Easily confused with
- **funnel** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/flannel-vs-funnel)
- **Flannery** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/flannel-vs-flannery)
- **fennel** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/fennel-vs-flannel)
- **flange** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/flange-vs-flannel)
- **fanned** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/fanned-vs-flannel)
- **flanked** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/flanked-vs-flannel)
- **flanker** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/flanker-vs-flannel)

## Common misspellings (9)
`falnnel`, `fflannel`, `flanel`, `flanenl`, `flannell`, `flannle`, `fllannel`, `flnanel`, `lfannel`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/flannel