Meaning

noun a soft loosely twisted thread used in embroidery

noun a soft thread for cleaning the spaces between the teeth

verb use dental floss to clean

originUnclear: * Possibly from French floche (“tuft of wool”), from floc, from Old French flosche (“down, velvet”), from Latin floccus (“piece of wool”), probably from Frankish *flokkō (“down, wool, flock”), from Proto-Germanic *flukkô (“down, piece of wool, flock”), from Proto-Indo-European *plewk- (“hair, fibres, tuft”). * Or, from Middle English *flos (attested in Middle English Flosmonger (a…

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0