Flatter Definition
- to hold the self-satisfying or self-deluding belief (that)
Idioms, Phrasal Verbs Related to Flatter
- flatter oneself
Origin of Flatter
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From Middle French flatter (“to flatter, to caress with the flat of the hand”), from Old French flater (“to deceive by concealing the truth, to stroke with the palm of the hand”), from Frankish *flat (“palm, flat of the hand”), from Proto-Germanic *flatą, *flatō (“palm, sole”), *flataz (“flat”), from Proto-Indo-European *plÁt-, *pele-, *plet-, *plāk- (“flat, broad, plain”). Cognate with Old High German flazza (“palm, flat of the hand”), Old High German flaz (“level, flat”), Old Saxon flat (“flat”), Old Norse flatr (“flat”) (whence English flat), Old Frisian flet, flette (“dwelling, house”), Old English flet, flett (“ground floor, dwelling”). More at flat.
From Wiktionary
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Middle English flateren from Old French flater of Germanic origin plat- in Indo-European roots
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
flat + -er
From Wiktionary
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