What does "flibbertigibbet" mean?
An offbeat, skittish person; especially said of a young woman.
Flibbertigibbet
/ˌflɪbətiˈdʒɪbɪt/ noun
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: An offbeat, skittish person; especially said of a young woman.
- Grammar: flibbertigibbet is listed as noun.
- Nearest alternatives: blabbermouth, chatterbox, demon, foolish woman.
- Useful contrasts: quiet person, reticent person.
- Usage evidence: All this responsibility at such an early age made her a bitchy flibbertigibbet.
How to use "flibbertigibbet"
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Meaning check
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Source and review context
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Before you rely on this definition
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Compare nearby meanings
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Definition decision workflow
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Definitions
Noun
- 1 An offbeat, skittish person; especially said of a young woman.
"All this responsibility at such an early age made her a bitchy flibbertigibbet."
- 2 a female fool wordnet
- 3 A flighty person; someone regarded as silly, irresponsible, or scatterbrained, especially someone who chatters or gossips.
"“Thou flibbertigibbet,” cried Catwezle, who had been listening, “all is clear as springwater. This Rapkyn was a sorcerer!”"
- 4 An imp, a fiend. archaic
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
quiet personreticent person
Example
"All this responsibility at such an early age made her a bitchy flibbertigibbet."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "flibbertigibbet"?
Common synonyms include: blabbermouth, chatterbox, demon, foolish woman, gossip, harebrain.
How do you use "flibbertigibbet" in a sentence?
All this responsibility at such an early age made her a bitchy flibbertigibbet.
How do you pronounce "flibbertigibbet"?
Pronounced /ˌflɪbətiˈdʒɪbɪt/.
Etymology
From late Middle English [Term?] first attested 1549 probably imitative of nonsense uttered by gossips. Usage as an imp or fiend and name of the Devil from around 1603. Alternatively (but far less likely), an alteration of flibbergib (“toady, sycophant”), derived potentially from an Old Norse *fleipra-geipa(re) (“babbler of nonsense”). The hypothetical Old Norse term would have been a compound of fleipra (a variant of fleipa (“to babble, tattle”)), and geipa (“to talk nonsense, to boast”) or geipare (“one who speaks nonsense, braggart”). fleipa is notably the ancestor to the flip- part of the English word flippant. It is of note that the original meaning of flibbergib was “chatterer”.