Etymograph

English

flatcatcher

flat + catcher; see flat (“a fool”).

A compound of flat + catcher

Proto-Germanic *flataz ‘flat’

Old Norse flatr ‘flat, level’

Middle English flat ‘level’

English flat

Today it means

noun An animal in poor condition that may be sold to an unwitting purchaser.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / flatcatcher