The article sets out to respond to two questions about Gothic initial þl-. The first section examines the etymology of Gothic words starting with þl-. In line with previous research, it is shown that these words correspond to words starting with *fl- in NW Germanic and with *pl- in PIE. This fact supports the assumption that initial þl- is a Gothic innovation. The second section deals with the conditions of the Gothic sound change #fl- > #þl-, which was most likely triggered by front vowels (Zupitza‘s law). This explanation requires an allophony of Pre-Gothic /a/ caused by the Early Germanic i-umlaut.