хлопья

Unclear. Cognate with хло́пок (xlópok, “cotton”). Compare with Czech chlup, Slovak chlp, Polish chłupy.

• IPA^(key): [ˈxɫop⁽ʲ⁾jə]

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хло́пья • (xlópʹja) n inan pl (genitive хло́пьев, plural only)

1. flakes (soft, loose material composed of small, flattened individual pieces)

   кукуру́зные хло́пья ― kukurúznyje xlópʹja ― corn flakes

2. (figuratively) puffs, tufts, wisps (of clouds, smoke, etc.)

• хло́пок (xlópok)
• хлопча́тый (xlopčátyj)

• Vasmer, Max (1964–1973), “хлопок”, in Этимологический словарь русского языка [Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language] (in Russian), transl. and suppl. by Oleg Trubachyov, Moscow: Progress