flame / flām/ • n. 1. a hot glowing body of ignited gas that is generated by something on fire: the flame of a candle | a sheet of flame blocked my escape. 2. fig. used in similes and metaphors to refer to something resembling a flame in various respects, in particular: ∎  a thing resembling a flame in heat, shape, or brilliance: red and yellow bunting fluttering like flames in the breeze. ∎  a brilliant orange-red color: [in comb.] a flame-red trench coat. ∎  a thing compared to a flame's ability to burn fiercely or be extinguished: the flame of hope burns brightly here. ∎  a very intense emotion: the sound of his laughter fanned the flame of anger to new heights. ∎  a cause that generates passionate feelings: her father had been keeper of the formalist flame. ∎  Comput. a vitriolic or abusive message sent via electronic mail, typically in quick response to another message: flames about inexperienced users posting stupid messages.• v. [intr.] burn and give off flames: a great fire flamed in an open fireplace. ∎  [tr.] set (something) alight: warm the whiskey slightly, pour over the lobster, and flame it. ∎ fig. shine or glow like a flame: her thick hair flamed against the light. ∎ fig. (of an intense emotion) appear suddenly and fiercely: hope flamed in her. ∎  (of a person's face) suddenly become red with intense emotion, esp. anger or embarrassment: Jess's cheeks flamed. ∎  [tr.] Comput. send (someone) abusive or vitriolic electronic mail messages, typically in a quick exchange.PHRASES: burst into flame (or flames) suddenly begin to burn fiercely: the grass looked ready to burst into flame.go up in flames be destroyed by fire: last night two factories went up in flames.in flames on fire; burning fiercely: the plane plunged to the ground in flames.old flame inf. a former lover.PHRASAL VERBS: flame out (of a jet engine) lose power through the extinction of the flame in the combustion chamber. ∎ inf. fail, esp. conspicuously: journalists had seared him for flaming out in the second round of the Olympics.DERIVATIVES: flame·less adj.flame·like / -ˌlīk/ adj.flam·er n. ( Comput. ).flam·y / ˈflāmē/ adj.

flam·ing / ˈflāming/ • adj. 1. burning fiercely and emitting flames: they dragged her away from the flaming car. ∎  very hot: flaming June. ∎  glowing with a bright orange or red color: the flaming autumn maples of the St. Lawrence River valley. ∎  (of red or orange) brilliant or intense: flaming red hair. ∎  (esp. of an argument) passionate: Gloria's suddenly flaming jealousy.2. inf. used for emphasis to express annoyance: weeds can become a flaming nuisance.DERIVATIVES: flam·ing·ly adv.

flame Informal
1. An angry or abusive e-mail message from one user to another.

2. A flood of e-mail messages from a large group of users to one specific user, who is judged to have offended against some standard of decent behavior. The individual messages may each be angry or abusive, but in some cases the actual messages may have no real purpose other than to overload the recipient's system, typically by sending as a mail message the entire contents of some very large data set such as the text of all the help files on a system.

flame sb. XIV. ME. flaume, flam(m)e — AN. *flaume, OF. flame, (also mod.) flamme :- L. flamma, f. base repr. by FLAGRANT.
So as vb. XIV. — OF. flam(m)er.