adj., fem. flöt, neut. flatt; [Engl. and Swed. flat; Dan. flad; Germ. platt]:—flat, level, of land; slétta dala ok flata völlu, Sks. 629: of other things, flatt skjaldþili, Eg. 233; flattr fiskr, a flat fish, Edda 35, Fs. 129, Bs. ii. 179.

β. flat; falla flatr, Sturl. i. 85, Hkr. i. 38; draga e-n flatan, to drag one flat on the ground, Nj. 247; kasfa sér flötum niðr, to throw oneself down flat, Fas. i. 53.

γ. or the flank of a thing, the phrases, stýra á flatt, to steer on the flank (side) of another ship, Korm. 230, Fas. ii. 523; bregða flötu sverði, to deal a blow with the flat of a blade, Fms. vii. 157; öxin snerisk flöt, the axe turned so as to strike flat, Grett. 151; bregða við flötum skildi, Nj. 262: metaph., fara flatt fyrir e-m, to fare ill, be worsted, metaphor from a ship, Sturl. iii. 233, Fms. vi. 379; koma flatt upp á e-n, to come ‘flat’ on one, take one by surprise. flata-fold, f. a flat-field, Bs. ii. 69.