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Origin and history of flaunt

flaunt(v.)

1560s, "to display oneself in flashy clothes," of unknown origin. Perhaps a variant of flout or vaunt. Perhaps from Scandinavian, where the nearest form seems to be Swedish dialectal flankt "loosely, flutteringly," from flakka "to waver" (related to flag (v.1)). It looks French, but it corresponds to no known French word. Transitive sense, "flourish (something), show off, make an ostentatious or brazen display of" is from 1827. Related: Flaunted; flaunting; Flauntingly.

flaunt(n.)

1620s, "act or habit of flaunting," from flaunt (v.).

also from 1620s

Entries linking to flaunt

flag(v.1)

1540s, "flap about loosely," probably a later variant of Middle English flakken, flacken "to flap, flutter" (late 14c.), which probably is from Old Norse flaka "to flicker, flutter, hang loose," itself perhaps imitative of something flapping lazily in the wind. The sense of "go limp, droop, become languid" is attested by 1610s. Related: Flagged; flagging.

aflaunt(adv., adj.)

"flaunting; flauntingly," 1560s, from a- (1) + flaunt.

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    Trends of flaunt

    adapted from books.google.com/ngrams/ with a 7-year moving average; ngrams are probably unreliable.

    More to explore

    flash
    Middle English flashen, flasken (c. 1200), "sprinkle or splash (water, powder, etc.); to gush forth;" probably at least partly imitative (compare splash, dash), or in part from PIE *bhleu- "to swell, well up," extended form of root *bhel- (2) "to blow, swell." From c. 1400, of bi
    braggart
    "a boaster," 1570s, formerly also braggard, from French bragard (16c.), with pejorative ending (see -ard) + braguer "to flaunt...
    strut
    important manner, walk with affected dignity," 1590s, from Middle English strouten "display one's clothes proudly, vainly flaunt...
    expose
    early 15c., "to leave without shelter or defense," from Old French esposer, exposer "lay open, set forth, speak one's mind, explain" (13c.), from Latin exponere "set forth, lay open, exhibit, reveal, publish," from ex "from, forth" (see ex-) + ponere "to put, place" (see position
    exhibit
    "offer or present to view," mid-15c., from Latin exhibitus, past participle of exhibere "to hold out, display, show, present, deliver," from ex "out" (see ex-) + habere "to hold" (from PIE root *ghabh- "to give or receive"). Related: Exhibited; exhibiting....1620s, "document or o
    display
    c. 1300, "unfold, spread out, unfurl" (a banner, etc.), from Old French desploiir (Modern French déployer) "unfold, unfasten, spread out" (of knots, sealed letters, etc.), from Latin displicare "to scatter," in Medieval Latin "to unfold," from dis- "un-, apart" (see dis-) + plica
    show
    Middle English sheuen, from Old English sceawian "to look at, see, gaze, behold, observe; inspect, examine; look for, choose," from Proto-Germanic *skauwojanan (source also of Old Saxon skauwon "to look at," Old Frisian skawia, Dutch schouwen, Old High German scouwon "to look at"
    off
    by c. 1200 as an emphatic form of Old English of (see of), employed in the adverbial use of that word. The prepositional meaning "away from" and the adjectival sense of "farther" were not firmly fixed in this variant until 17c., but once they were they left the original of with t
    ring
    [circular band] Old English hring "circlet of metal, especially one of a precious metal for wearing on the finger ornamentally, also a part of a mail coat; anything circular," from Proto-Germanic *hringaz "something curved, circle" (source also of Old Norse hringr, Old Frisian hr
    allegory
    "figurative treatment of an unmentioned subject under the guise of another similar to it in some way," late 14c., allegorie, from Old French allegorie (12c.), from Latin allegoria, from Greek allegoria "figurative language, description of one thing under the image of another," li

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