flyting

English

Etymology

From Middle English fliting, flytyng, equivalent to flyte +‎ -ing.

Noun

flyting (plural flytings)

  1. Contention, noisy argument.
  2. Scolding, rebuke.
  3. A poetic contest of insults or invective.
    • 2007, Marina Warner, ‘Doubly Damned’, London Review of Books 29:3, p. 26
      Rival poets in Scotland exchanged flytings that were packed with riddling conceits.
    • 1898, George Saintsbury, A Short History of English Literature
      These "flytings" consisted of alternate torrents of sheer Billingsgate poured upon each other by the combatants.
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