Where does “flag-happy” come from?

flag-happy (English) comes from English flag, from English flack, from Middle English flacken, from German flackern, from Middle High German vlackern, from Proto-Germanic flakuraz, from Proto-Indo-European plāg-, from Proto-Indo-European pelə- — to wander; to fill.

flag-happy (English): Overly inclined to rule that an infraction has occurred

Definitions

  1. Overly inclined to rule that an infraction has occurred

Ancestry of “flag-happy”, step by step

flag-happy traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English flag

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishflagA piece of cloth, often decorated with an emblem,...
2EnglishflackTo flutter; palpitate; To hang loosely; flag; To...
3Middle Englishflackento palpitate, flutter; to move to and fro,...
4Germanflackernto flicker
5Middle High Germanvlackern
6Proto-Germanicflakurazshaking, wavering
7Proto-Indo-Europeanplāg-
8Proto-Indo-Europeanpelə-to wander; to fill

via English happy

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishhappyHaving a feeling arising from a consciousness of...
2Middle Englishhappyfortunate, happy
3Middle English-yDesignates an adjective, in many cases formed by...
4Old English-iġ-y, -ic
5Proto-West Germanic-gForms adjectives from nouns and verbs with a...
6Proto-Germanic-gaz-y
7Proto-Indo-European-ḱos-y, -ic
Every word from Proto-Indo-European pelə-Every word from Proto-Indo-European plāg-Every word from Proto-Germanic flakuraz