- flame (n.)
- mid-14c., from Anglo-French flaume, Old French flamme (10c.), from Latin flammula "small flame," diminutive of flamma "flame, blazing fire," from PIE *bhleg- "to shine, flash," from root *bhel- (1) "to shine, flash, burn" (see bleach (v.)).
The meaning "a sweetheart" is attested from 1640s; the figurative sense of "burning passion" was in Middle English. Flame-thrower (1917) translates German flammenwerfer (1915). - flame (v.)
- early 14c., flamen, from Old French flamer, from flamme (see flame (n.)). The sense of "unleash invective on a computer network" is from 1980s. Related: Flamed; flaming.