*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of flap

From Middle English flap, flappe (“a slap; blow; buffet; fly-flap; something flexible or loose; flap”), related to Saterland Frisian Flappert (“wing, flipper”), Middle Dutch flabbe (“a blow; slap on the face; fly-flap; f

2 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 2 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗
noun

Anything broad and flexible that hangs loose, or that is attached by one side or end and is easily moved. · A hinged leaf. · A hinged surface on the trailing edge of the wings of an aeroplane, used to increase lift and drag. · A side fin of a ray.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Middle English flap, flappe (“a slap; blow; buffet; fly-flap; something flexible or loose; flap”), related to Saterland Frisian Flappert (“wing, flipper”), Middle Dutch flabbe (“a blow; slap on the face; fly-flap; flap”) (modern Dutch flap (“flap”)), Middle Low German flabbe, vlabbe, flebbe, from the verb (see below). Related also to English flab and flabby.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Inherited-form mentionflapenm
  • Cognate mentionFlappertstq · wing, flipper
  • Cognate mentionflabbedum
  • Cognate mentionflapnl
  • Cognate mentionflabbegml

This page abbreviates 8 auxiliary source items. The etymology narrative is not shortened. Omission counts are available in the audit fields below; consult the original for complete auxiliary material.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "flap"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English flap"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "stq",
        "2": "Flappert",
        "t": "wing, flipper"
      },
      "expansion": "Saterland Frisian Flappert (“wing, flipper”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "dum",
        "2": "flabbe",
        "3": "",
        "4": "a blow; slap on the face; fly-flap; flap"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle Dutch flabbe (“a blow; slap on the face; fly-flap; flap”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nl",
        "2": "flap",
        "3": "",
        "4": "flap"
      },
      "expansion": "Dutch flap (“flap”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "gml",
        "2": "flabbe"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle Low German flabbe"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "flap",
      "flap#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "flappe",
      "flappe#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "Flappert",
      "Flappert#Saterland_Frisian"
    ],
    [
      "flabbe",
      "flabbe#Middle_Dutch"
    ],
    [
      "flap",
      "flap#Dutch"
    ],
    [
      "flabbe",
      "flabbe#Middle_Low_German"
    ],
    [
      "vlabbe",
      "vlabbe#Middle_Low_German"
    ],
    [
      "flebbe",
      "flebbe#Middle_Low_German"
    ],
    [
      "flab",
      "flab#English"
    ],
    [
      "flabby",
      "flabby#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "Anything broad and flexible that hangs loose, or that is attached by one side or end and is easily moved.",
        "A hinged leaf.",
        "A hinged surface on the trailing edge of the wings of an aeroplane, used to increase lift and drag.",
        "A side fin of a ray."
      ],
      "tags": [],
      "recordId": "08a01c38a6e106b87e1ebb8afd4fc7c9cdfb69b264735bec6f181267789fc2c4",
      "rawRecordSha256": "d8c32185378f9b6b8618c8918dad76d834ae9dace221c9f91386ecf4be39cbd5",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 236614
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
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    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 8,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
verb

To move (something broad and loose) up and down. · To move loosely back and forth. · For a goalkeeper to weakly attempt to play a flighted ball with the hands, failing to control it. · To pronounce (something) as a flap consonant.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Middle English flappen (“to flap, clap, slap, strike”), related to Dutch flappen (“to flap”), German Low German flappen (“to flap”), German flappen (“to flap”), Dutch flabberen (“to flit, flap”). Probably ultimately imitative.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Inherited-form mentionflappenenm · to flap, clap, slap, strike
  • Cognate mentionflappennl · to flap
  • Cognate mentionflappende · to flap
  • Cognate mentionflabberennl · to flit, flap

This page abbreviates 3 auxiliary source items. The etymology narrative is not shortened. Omission counts are available in the audit fields below; consult the original for complete auxiliary material.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "flappen",
        "t": "to flap, clap, slap, strike"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English flappen (“to flap, clap, slap, strike”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nl",
        "2": "flappen",
        "t": "to flap"
      },
      "expansion": "Dutch flappen (“to flap”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nds-de",
        "2": "flappen",
        "t": "to flap"
      },
      "expansion": "German Low German flappen (“to flap”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "flappen",
        "t": "to flap"
      },
      "expansion": "German flappen (“to flap”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nl",
        "2": "flabberen",
        "t": "to flit, flap"
      },
      "expansion": "Dutch flabberen (“to flit, flap”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "onomatopoeic",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "title": "imitative"
      },
      "expansion": "imitative"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "flappen",
      "flappen#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "flappen",
      "flappen#Dutch"
    ],
    [
      "flappen",
      "flappen#Low_German"
    ],
    [
      "flappen",
      "flappen#German"
    ],
    [
      "flabberen",
      "flabberen#Dutch"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "To move (something broad and loose) up and down.",
        "To move loosely back and forth.",
        "For a goalkeeper to weakly attempt to play a flighted ball with the hands, failing to control it.",
        "To pronounce (something) as a flap consonant."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "transitive",
        "intransitive"
      ],
      "recordId": "266522571fd5573d30140976ee937dcddbdf454bb5ce82fb703fd2cc4e35e2c1",
      "rawRecordSha256": "4a28bde9a6d30309377f3c3f1c8f243c6ee8218c60b654cb32aaad4ee2135087",
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  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
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    "lexicalSenses": 3,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for flap →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-ZmxhcA