flapper

[flap-er]

noun

1. something broad and flat used for striking or for making a noise by striking.

2. a broad, flat, hinged or hanging piece; flap.

3. a young woman, especially one who, during the 1920s, behaved and dressed in a boldly unconventional manner.

4. a young bird just learning to fly.

5. Slang.,  the hand.

flapper

/ ˈflæpə /

noun

1. a person or thing that flaps

2. (in the 1920s) a young woman, esp one flaunting her unconventional dress and behaviour

Other Word Forms

• flapperdom noun
• flapperish adjective
• flapperism noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of flapper¹

First recorded in 1560–70; flap + -er ¹

Example Sentences

Now, suddenly, he was handed a microphone and enlisted as a simultaneous translator for Karel Lamač’s uproarious Jazz Age comedy about a proper Viennese girl who goes wild as a flapper.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Nicks strolled in later, fresh from her stint at Clementine’s and still donning her flapper costume.

Read more on Salon

In the hour before Pippi’s party, children scoured the room on a scavenger hunt to find nine Pippis, donning disguises from a Dodgers jersey to a 1920s flapper dress.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

To replicate the columnar formations of birds, in which they line up one directly behind the other, the researchers created mechanized flappers that act like birds' wings.

Read more on Science Daily

Underneath, dresses of scalloped sequins and draped fringe recall flapper looks with contemporary discipline.

Read more on Seattle Times

Related Words

• branch 
• rod 
• wing