flush [ME] Flush as in flushed cheeks, flush the lavatory was first recorded in the sense ‘move rapidly, spring up’, especially in the context of a bird’. It is symbolic, fl- frequently beginning words connected with sudden movement; perhaps, in this case, influenced by flash and blush. The sense ‘level with’ [M16th] is probably the same word, probably from the image of a river running full and level with its banks, and is the same word as flush for ‘plentifully supplied’. The term for a hand of cards all of the same suit is perhaps from French flux (formerly flus), from Latin fluxus ‘a flow’, and dates from the early 16th century. This specialized use may be compared with English run also used in cards contexts.