Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “flipper” come from?

Flipper comes from English flip, influenced by English fillip, both ultimately deriving from Latin -āre verb endings via Old French -er, with the agent noun suffix from Latin -ārius.

flipper (English): In marine mammals such as whales, a wide flat...

Definitions

  1. In marine mammals such as whales, a wide flat...

Ancestry of “flipper”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishFlipA Filipino; a person who is of Filipino...
2EnglishfillipThe action of holding the tip of a finger against...
3Middle Englishfilippento make a signal or sound with thumb and right...
4Middle Englishflappento flap, clap, slap, strike

Words derived from “flipper”

  • flippered
  • flipperlike
  • flippery
  • flipperless
  • flippant
  • flipper
  • φλίπερ
Every word from Middle English flappen →