flipper
- a broad, flat limb, as of a seal or whale, especially adapted for swimming.
- Also called fin. one of a pair of paddlelike devices, usually of rubber, worn on the feet as an aid in scuba diving and swimming.
- Theater. a narrow flat hinged or attached at right angles to a larger flat.
- Slang. the hand.
- someone or something that flips.
Origin of flipper
flip3
- flippant; pert.
Origin of flip3
Examples from the Web for flipper
Contemporary Examples
“The flipper is a living object, and you never play the same game on it,” says Colin.
Steel balls caromed around the table as the player massaged, tickled, pressed, and slammed the flipper buttons.
Looks like the only thing ready to come with him in this "real" moment is a fish named Flipper.
Historical Examples
I'm not sure that a seal's flipper might not be acceptable by to-morrow morning.
Left on LabradorCharles Asbury Stephens
I shook his flipper weakly and tried the dodge of pretending to recognise him.
A Yeoman's LettersP. T. Ross
It gave him a chance of driving the harpoon under the flipper of the male.
Fast in the IceR.M. Ballantyne
It was a nice, fat, luscious, flipper seal and dead as a door-nail.
Grenfell: Knight-Errant of the NorthFullerton Waldo
Papik's second lance strikes through a flipper into the lungs.
Grenfell: Knight-Errant of the NorthFullerton Waldo
flipper
- the flat broad limb of seals, whales, penguins, and other aquatic animals, specialized for swimming
- Also called: fin (often plural) either of a pair of rubber paddle-like devices worn on the feet as an aid in swimming, esp underwater
- cricket a ball bowled with backspin imparted by the action of the bowler's wrist
flip
- to throw (something light or small) carelessly or briskly; tosshe flipped me an envelope
- to throw or flick (an object such as a coin) so that it turns or spins in the air
- to propel by a sudden movement of the finger; flickto flip a crumb across the room
- (foll by through) to read or look at (a book, newspaper, etc) quickly, idly, or incompletely
- (intr) (of small objects) to move or bounce jerkily
- (intr) to make a snapping movement or noise with the finger and thumb
- (intr) slang to fly into a rage or an emotional outburst (also in the phrases flip one's lid, flip one's top, flip out)
- (intr) slang to become ecstatic or very excitedhe flipped over the jazz group
- a snap or tap, usually with the fingers
- a rapid jerk
- a somersault, esp one performed in the air, as in a dive, rather than from a standing position
- same as nog 1 (def. 1)
- informal impertinent, flippant, or pert
Word Origin
Word Origin and History for flipper
n.
"limb used to swim with," 1822, agent noun from flip (v.). Sense of "rubber fin for underwater swimming" is from 1945. Slang meaning "the hand" dates from 1836. Related: Flippers.
flip
v.
1590s (1520s in flip-flop), imitative or else a contraction of fillip (q.v.), which also is held to be imitative. Sense of "get excited" is first recorded 1950; flip one's lid "lose one's head, go wild" is from 1950. For flip (adj.) "glib," see flippant. Meaning "to flip a coin" (to decide something) is by 1879. As a noun by 1690s. Related: Flipped. Flipping (adj.) as euphemism for fucking is British slang first recorded 1911 in D.H. Lawrence. Flip side (of a gramophone record) is by 1949.
flip
n.
sailors' hot drink usually containing beer, brandy and sugar, 1690s, from flip (v.); so called from notion of it being "whipped up" or beaten.
flipper
- A wide, flat limb adapted for swimming, found on aquatic animals such as whales, seals, and sea turtles. Flippers evolved from legs.