flav-

¹

1. variant of flavo- before a vowel:

   flavone.

flav.

²

abbreviation for

1. yellow.

Word History and Origins

Origin of flav-¹

From the Latin word flāvus

Example Sentences

The industry itself is its own Flavor Flav, hyping us up for these yearly achievements.

From The Daily Beast

And then Chuck D [from Public Enemy] started calling me Flavor Flav.

From The Daily Beast

After his 2007 evisceration of Flavor Flav, he may have taken some heat for making racial jokes.

From The Daily Beast

Thorace subspinoso; ferrugineus, elytris line transvers flav, femoribus posticis gracilibus spinulosis.

From Project Gutenberg

Thorace bispinoso rugoso, elytris fasci flav, antennis longioribus compressis.

From Project Gutenberg

Ferruginea, abdomine fasci flav ante apicem utrinque bipunctat.

From Project Gutenberg

Words That Use Flav-

What does flav- mean?

Flav- is a combining form used like a prefix typically meaning “yellow.” When used in biochemistry terms, flavo- means “flavin,” a pale yellow chemical compound found in a variety of biological substances, like vitamins.

Flav- comes from Latin flāvus, meaning “yellow” or “blonde.” The Greek equivalent of flāvus is xanthós, “yellow.” To learn more, read our Words That Use articles on xanth- and xantho-.

What are variants of flav-?

Flav- is a variant of flavo-, which loses its -o- when combined with words or word elements beginning with vowels. Want to know more? Read our Words That Use flavo- article.

Examples of flav-

An example of a scientific term that features the form flav- is flavine, a term used in chemistry to mean “acriflavine hydrochloride,” a chemical compound.

The form flav- means “yellow,” while the suffix -ine has a variety of meanings, including denoting a chemical compound. Flavine literally means “yellow chemical compound.”

What are some words that use the combining form flav-?

• flavescent (using the equivalent form of flav- in Latin)
• flavin mononucleotide
• flavivirus
• flavone (using the equivalent form of flav- in German)
• flavonoid (using the equivalent form of flav- in German)

What are some other forms that flav- may be commonly confused with?

• flor-
• fluo-
• fluor-
• fluoro-
• fluvio-

Not every word that begins with the exact letters flav-, such as flavor, is necessarily using the combining form flav- to denote “yellow.” Learn why flavor means “taste” at our entry for the word.

Break it down!

The chemical compounds known as flavonoids are frequently found in plants. Keeping in mind the meaning of flav-, what color are these compounds in nature?