different between flap vs flack

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /flæp/
• Rhymes: -æp

Etymology 1

From Middle English flap, flappe (“a slap; blow; buffet; fly-flap; something flexible or loose; flap”), related to Middle Dutch flabbe (“a blow; slap on the face; fly-flap; flap”) (modern Dutch flap (“flap”)), Middle Low German flabbe, vlabbe, flebbe, from the verb (see below). Related also to English flab and flabby.

Noun

flap (plural flaps)

1. Anything broad and flexible that hangs loose, or that is attached by one side or end and is easily moved.
3. A hinged leaf.

4. (aviation) A hinged surface on the trailing edge of the wings of an aeroplane.
5. A side fin of a ray.

   Synonym: wing

6. The motion of anything broad and loose, or a sound or stroke made with it.
7. A controversy, scandal, stir, or upset.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:commotion
9. (phonetics) A consonant sound made by a single muscle contraction, such as the sound [[?]] in the standard American English pronunciation of body.

   Synonym: tap

10. (surgery) A piece of tissue incompletely detached from the body, as an intermediate stage of plastic surgery.
11. (veterinary medicine) A disease in the lips of horses.
12. (slang, vulgar, chiefly in the plural) The labia, the vulva.
13. (obsolete) A blow or slap (especially to the face).
    • 1450, Palladius on Husbondrie?

      Ware the horn and heels lest they fling a flap to thee.

    • a1500 The Prose Merlin?

      The squire lift up his hand and gave him such a flap that all they in the chapel might it hear.

14. (obsolete) A young prostitute.
    • 1631, James Mabbe, Celestina IX. 110

      Fall to your flap, my Masters, kisse and clip. […] Come hither, you foule flappes.

Derived terms

• cat flap
• (aeroplane): flaperon
• flap seat

Translations

See also

• flap on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• fold
• lappet

Etymology 2

From Middle English flappen (“to flap, clap, slap, strike”), related to Dutch flappen (“to flap”), German Low German flappen (“to flap”), German flappen (“to flap”), Dutch flabberen (“to flit, flap”). Probably ultimately imitative.

Verb

flap (third-person singular simple present flaps, present participle flapping, simple past and past participle flapped)

1. (transitive) To move (something broad and loose) up and down.

   The crow slowly flapped its wings.
2. (intransitive) To move loosely back and forth.

   The flag flapped in the breeze.
3. (computing, telecommunications, intransitive) Of a resource or network destination: to be advertised as being available and then unavailable (or available by different routes) in rapid succession.

Translations

Derived terms

• flapper
• flappingly
• unflappable

Anagrams

• PLAF

Dutch

Etymology

From Middle Dutch flabbe, probably ultimately imitative.

Pronunciation

Noun

flap m (plural flappen, diminutive flapje n)

1. flap (something flexible that is loose)
2. (colloquial) banknote

Derived terms

• appelflap
• flappentap
• flappen tappen

Volapük

Noun

flap (nominative plural flaps)

1. blow, hit

Declension

Derived terms

• flapan
• flapön

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /flæk/
• Rhymes: -æk
• Homophone: flak

Etymology 1

From Middle English flacken (“to palpitate, flutter”), from Proto-Germanic *flakk?n (“to swerve”), from Proto-Indo-European *ple?-, which could be related to Ancient Greek ????? (pláz?, “to turn away from”).

Akin to Middle Dutch vlacken (“to flicker, flash, sparkle”), Danish flakke (“to wander”), Swedish flacka (“to rove, rove about, ramble”), Icelandic flakka (“to move”). Compare also Icelandic flaka (“to flap, hang loose”), Swedish flaxa (“to flap, flutter”).

Verb

flack (third-person singular simple present flacks, present participle flacking, simple past and past participle flacked)

1. (intransitive, obsolete) To flutter; palpitate.
2. (intransitive, Britain dialectal) To hang loosely; flag.
3. (transitive, Britain dialectal) To beat by flapping.

Etymology 2

Unknown

Noun

flack (plural flacks)

1. (Canada, US) A publicist, a publicity agent.
   • 1999, Patricia Cornwell, The Southern Cross, page 233

     Thought you were flack," she said.

     "I'm not flack."

     "All right, P.R., a reporter, a novelist."

Verb

flack (third-person singular simple present flacks, present participle flacking, simple past and past participle flacked)

1. (Canada, US) To publicise, to promote.

Etymology 3

Variant of flak.

Noun

flack (countable and uncountable, plural flacks)

1. Alternative spelling of flak.

Further reading

• flack at OneLook Dictionary Search
• flack in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.

Anagrams

• Falck