Also flare. [Cf. OF. flair (14th c.) some kind of flat fish.] The ray or skate.
1668. Wilkins, Real Char., II. v. § 3. 133. Flare, Thornback.
a. 1672. Willughby, Ichthyogr. (1686), Tab. C. N. 5. The Skate or Flair.
1710. Sibbald, Hist. Fife, ii. 50. Raia lævis, the Skate or Flair.
1740. R. Brookes, Art of Angling, II. v. 105. The Scale or Flare … is a gristly Fish, with a flat smooth, and very broad Body.
1861. J. Couch, Fishes Brit. Isl., I. 87. The Skate is one of our commonest fishes, and is found on all the coasts of the British Islands, although it becomes less abundant as we proceed towards the north.
