flibbertigibbet
Americannoun
-
a chattering or flighty, light-headed person.
-
Archaic. a gossip.
noun
Etymology
Origin of flibbertigibbet
1425–75; late Middle English flepergebet, flipergebet; reduplicative compound of obscure origin
Explanation
A flibbertigibbet is a very silly chatterbox. If your teacher calls you a flibbertigibbet, she clearly doesn't think you're a serious or scholarly person. The noun flibbertigibbet is a colorful — if slightly old fashioned — word for a ridiculous busybody, someone who talks and gossips a lot but doesn't have much of any substance to say. It's most often used to talk about a frivolous young woman. Flibbertigibbet is a Middle English invention, a word that sounds like meaningless chatter, and it's still used fairly often in Yorkshire, England.
Vocabulary lists containing flibbertigibbet
Charlotte's Web
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
To All the Boys I've Loved Before
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
The Graveyard Book
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In King Lear, Shakespeare blamed rust's presence on a "foul fiend" named Flibbertigibbet.
From Time Magazine Archive
Whereupon Edgar replies, “This is the foul fiend, Flibbertigibbet; he begins at curfew, and walks till the first cock.”
From Folk-lore of Shakespeare by Thiselton-Dyer, Thomas Firminger
Thereupon Flibbertigibbet beat upon her breast to indicate first person singular possessive.
From Flamsted quarries by Nelson, G. Patrick
All these, voice and piano gave together: nobody who heard "Flibbertigibbet" ever forgot it.
From Julia Ward Howe 1819-1910 by Elliott, Maud Howe
When Flibbertigibbet put her eye to this aperture, it fitted so nicely that she could see up and down the street fully two rods each way.
From Flamsted quarries by Nelson, G. Patrick
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
