Webster
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Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Fluke

Fluke (flūk), n. [Cf. AS. flōc a kind of flatfish, Icel. flōki a kind of halibut.] 1. (Zoöl.) The European flounder. See Flounder. [Written also fleuk, flook, and flowk]. [1913 Webster]

2. (Zoöl.) A parasitic trematode worm of several species, having a flat, lanceolate body and two suckers. Two species (Fasciola hepatica and Distoma lanceolatum) are found in the livers of sheep, and produce the disease called rot. [1913 Webster]

Fluke (flūk), n. [Cf. LG. flunk, flunka wing, the palm of an anchor; perh. akin to E. fly.] 1. The part of an anchor which fastens in the ground; a flook. See Anchor.

2. (Zoöl.) One of the lobes of a whale's tail, so called from the resemblance to the fluke of an anchor.

3. An instrument for cleaning out a hole drilled in stone for blasting.

4. An accidental and favorable stroke at billiards (called a scratch in the United States); hence, any accidental or unexpected advantage; as, he won by a fluke. [Cant, Eng.] A. Trollope.

Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Noah Porter, editor (Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913). Public domain. Text as transcribed by MICRA, Inc., from Project Gutenberg. Changed for Deep Dive Bible: Greek, which our source spelled in Latin letters, set in Greek letters; entries of one spelling merged into one article; Greek words our source left out (shown as “?”), read from the 1898 printing, from the same plates (the Library of Congress’s copy), where the place could be found with certainty.