Etymology Explorer › Middle French

Where does “flatter” come from?

flatter (Middle French) comes from Old French flater, from Frankish flat, from Proto-Germanic flatą, from Proto-Indo-European plÁt-.

flatter (Middle French): to flatter

Definitions

  1. to flatter

Ancestry of “flatter”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Frenchflaterto flatter; to seduce with words
2Frankishflatpalm, flat of the hand; flat
3Proto-Germanicflatą—
4Proto-Indo-EuropeanplÁt-—

Words derived from “flatter”

  • flatter
Every word from Proto-Indo-European plÁt- →