• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
Zippy Facts Logo

Zippy Facts

Interesting Random Facts

  • Animals
  • Culture
  • Firsts
  • Food
  • Geography
  • Health
  • History
  • Inventions
  • Language
  • Mythology
  • Odds
  • People
  • Religion
  • Science
  • Space
  • Universe
  • World
You are here: Home / Language / Where does the word “flapper” come from and What does flapper mean?

Where does the word “flapper” come from and What does flapper mean?

June 6, 2020 by Karen Hill

It is perhaps just as well that the slang term “flapper” for an adolescent young woman, the equivalent of the later “bobbysoxer,” has just about disappeared.

It was never complimentary, even if, as some think, the name was borrowed from the hunters’ term for a young wild duck in ungainly flight.

But there was an earlier slang use of flapper which preceded the twentieth-century use by only a few decades, and which was more probably the direct antecedent, somewhat altered in meaning.

The late nineteenth-century slang meant an immoral young woman. Immorality was not implied in the later slang.

Related Facts

  • Where Did the Term "Flapper" For Young Women in the 1920s Come From and What Does the Word Mean?
  • What does the word "gauntlet" mean and Where does the word gauntlet come from?
  • What does the word incubus (succubus) mean and Where does the word "incubus" come from?
  • Where does the word "Toilet" come from and What does the word Toilet mean in French?
  • What Does the Word Scapegoat Mean and Where Did the Word Scapegoat Come From?
  • What Does the Word "Clock" Mean in French and Where Did the Word For a Large Timepiece Come From?

Filed Under: Language

About Karen Hill

Karen Hill is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist. Born in New York, her work has appeared in the Examiner, Yahoo News, Buzzfeed, among others.

Previous Post: « Where does the word “filibuster” (freebooter) come from and What does filibuster mean?
Next Post: How did the fork get its name and Where does the word “fork” come from? »

Footer

Follow

  • Facebook
  • Flickr
  • GitHub
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Medium
  • Pinterest
  • StumbleUpon
  • Tumblr
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Categories

Accomplishments Animals Culture Firsts Food Geography Health History Inventions Language Mythology Odds People Religion Science Space Universe World Your Body

About

Zippy Facts empowers the world by serving educational content that is accessible to everyone.

A tribute to growing up, zippyfacts.com showcases interesting and unusual facts about the world.

Our mission is to use technology to facilitate knowledge transfer and sharing.

Copyright © 2021 Zippy Facts

  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy