English
flatulate
Flatulate may come from French flatuler.
- Frenchc. 1600–presentflatuleruncertain
- Englishearliest quotation 2001flatulate
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Frenchc. 1600–presentflatuleruncertain
- Englishearliest quotation 2001flatulate
Earliest quotation: 2001, David Kerans: “Horses defecate and flatulate on the move.”
The story
Attested since the 19th century; either a back-formation from flatulence or borrowed from French flatuler, either way, see-ate (verb-forming suffix); ultimately from New Latin flātulentus, from flō (‘to blow, breeze’).
Every English word from French flatuler
Today it means
verb To fart, to emit digestive gases from the anus, especially with accompanying sound and smell.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / French flatuler / flatulate