Obs. [a. OF. flote fem., company of persons, multitude = Sp. flota, Pg. frota:—pop. L. type *flotta, prob. f. Teut. *flot- weak grade of the root of *fleutan FLEET v. in the sense ‘to flow.’
The Sp. and Pg. words also mean ‘fleet of vessels,’ and in this meaning are prob. adoptions of the Teut. word appearing as ON. flote, OE. flota wk. masc., f. the same root in the sense ‘to float.’ The mod. sense of F. flotte, fleet, is believed to have been adopted from Sp. in the 16th c.; the older sense is still current in certain phrases, but is popularly regarded as a transferred use. It. has fiotta, frotta, flotta in both senses, but their relation to the F. word is doubtful.]
A company, troop; also, a herd (of cattle), a shoal (of fish).
a. 1300. Cursor M., 2444 (Cott.). O fee þai had a selly flot.
c. 1300. Havelok, 737.
| And þere he made a litel cote, | |
| To him and to hise flote. |
a. 1375. Joseph of Arim., 28. Joseph ferde biforen and þe flote folewede.
a. 1400–50. Alexander, 770. Aithire with a firs flote in þe fild metis.
1513. Douglas, Æneis, XII. v. 191.
| Italians hurlis on him in a flote, | |
| Spulȝeit his corps, hys membris ȝit all hote. |
1603. Holland, Plutarch’s Mor., 343. Seeing a great flote of dolphins environing gently round about him; and that they succeeded and seconded one another by turnes, for to take the charge of carrying him, as if it had beene a service imposed upon them all.
1647. N. Bacon, Discourse of the Laws & Government of England, I. v. (1682), 11. Weakned the Western part of the Empire; and exposed it not only to the forrain invasions of the Goths, Vandals, Herules, Lombards, and other flotes of people, that about these times, by secret instinct were weary of their own dwellings.
