English
fluster
Fluster may come from Middle English *flostren.
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500*flostrenuncertain
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1603–1604fluster
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500*flostrenuncertain
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1603–1604fluster
Earliest quotation: c. 1603–1604, William Shakespeare, The Tragœdy of Othello: “Three lads of Cypres, noble ſvvelling ſpirits, / That…”
The story
The verb is probably from Middle English *flostren (implied in flostring, flostrynge (‘agitation; blustering’)) from a Scandinavian (North Germanic) language; compare Icelandic flaustra (‘to bustle’), flaustr (‘a bustle; a hurry’).
Every English word from Middle English *flostren
Today it means
verb To throw (someone) into a state of confusion or panic; to befuddle, to confuse.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Middle English *flostren / fluster