Flounce
/flaʊns/noun
To move or proceed with exaggerated, impatient, or dramatic motions; also a decorative strip or ruffle attached to clothing.
Did you know?Flounce is likely related to a Scandinavian word for a sudden plunge or splash, and the English verb developed the sense of a jerky, showy movement before it was used for clothing ruffles.
Etymological Timeline
16th Century
English
flounce
“To move with a sudden, jerky motion; to plunge or rush about awkwardly.”
16th-17th Century
English
flounce
“To behave in an affected, dramatic, or impatient way.”
Late 16th Century
English
flounce
“A decorative strip or ruffle on a garment, named from its fluttering movement.”
Old Norse / Scandinavian
ON/Scand.
flunsa
“To plunge, rush, or splash down suddenly.”
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*fluns-
“An imitative or expressive root connected with sudden movement or splashing.”