English
flatter
Flatter comes from Middle English flatteren.
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500flatteren
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1590–1591flatter
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500flatteren
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1590–1591flatter
Earliest quotation: c. 1590–1591, William Shakespeare, The Two Gentlemen of Verona: “Here is her picture: let me see; I think,…”
Formed from float + -er
Proto-Indo-European *plewd- ‘to float, swim, fly’
Proto-Germanic *flutōną ‘to float’
Proto-West Germanic *flotōn ‘to float’
Old English flotian ‘to float’
Middle English floten ‘to float’
English float
Every English word from Middle English flatteren
Today it means
verb To compliment someone, often (but not necessarily) insincerely and sometimes to win favour.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Middle English flatteren / flatter