effleurer

to stroke gently, to touch lightly; to brush over, to brush past; to skim over (a subject)

From Middle French effleurer, from Old French esflourer, equivalent to ex- (“ex-”) + fleurer (“sprinkle”). In some senses, from Middle French fleur (“surface, top layer”), ultimately from Proto-West Germanic *flōr (“ground, floor”), from Proto-Germanic *flōraz.