flatter

English

Pronunciation

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ætə(r)

Etymology

From Middle English flatteren, flateren (“to flutter, float, fawn over”), probably a conflation of Old English floterian (“to flutter, float, be disquieted”), from Proto-Germanic *flutrōnan (“to be floating”), from Proto-Indo-European *pleud-, *plew-, *plōw- (“to flow, swim”); and Old Norse flaðra (“to fawn on someone, flatter”), from Proto-Germanic *flaþrōnan (“to fawn over, flutter”), from Proto-Indo-European *peled- (“moisture, wetness”), *pel- (“to gush, pour out, fill, flow, swim, fly”). Cognate with Middle Dutch flatteren (“to embellish, flatter, caress”), German flattern (“to flutter”). The Middle English word may have been reinforced in meaning by unrelated Old French flatter (“to stroke, caress, flatter”), a word of Germanic origin, from Frankish *flat (“palm, flat of the hand”). More at flat.

Adjective

flatter (comparative)

1. comparative form of flat: more flat

Noun

flatter (plural flatters)

1. A type of set tool used by blacksmiths.
2. Someone who flattens, purposely or accidently. Also flattener.

Translations

hammer

Polish: gładzik kowalski (pl) m.

Verb

flatter (third-person singular simple present flatters, present participle flattering, simple past and past participle flattered) (transitive and intransitive)

1. To compliment someone, often insincerely and sometimes to win favour
2. To enhance someone's vanity by praising them
3. To portray something to advantage.
4. To convey notions of the facts that are believed to be favorable to the hearer without certainty of the truthfulness of the notions conveyed.

Related terms

• flattery
• flatterer

Translations

to compliment someone

Arabic: تملق (ar) (tamállaqa) Chinese: Mandarin: 討好 (cmn), 讨好 (cmn) (tǎohǎo), 奉承 (cmn) (fèngchéng) Czech: lichotit (cs), pochlebovat (cs) Dutch: complimenteren (nl) Finnish: imarrella (fi), mielistellä (fi), nuoleskella (fi) French: flatter (fr) German: schmeicheln (de) Japanese: お世辞を言う (ja) (おせじをいう, o-seji-o iu), 諂う (ja) (へつらう, hetsurau) Luxembourgish: blimmelen (lb)

Norwegian: Bokmål: smigre Nynorsk: smigre (nn) Polish: schlebiać (pl), pochlebiać (pl) Russian: льстить (ru) (l'stit') impf. Serbo-Croatian: Cyrillic: ла̏скати (sh) Roman: lȁskati (sh) Spanish: adular (es), halagar (es)

to enhance someone's vanity

Finnish: imarrella (fi) German: anbiedern (de), einschmeicheln (de) Polish: schlebiać (pl), pochlebiać (pl)

Russian: льстить (ru) (l'stit') impf. Spanish: adular (es), lisonjear (es), lisonjear (es)

to portray something to advantage

Finnish: kaunistella (fi) German: anbiedern (de)

Russian: льстить (ru) (l'stit') impf. Spanish: retocar (es)

to convey notions without certainty

Spanish: halagar (es)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.

Translations to be checked

French: flatter (1,2)

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French

Etymology

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”), of Germanic origin, from Frankish *flat (“palm, flat of the hand”), from Proto-Germanic *flatan, *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, flétrir.

Pronunciation

• Audio

  (file)

Verb

flatter

1. to flatter

Conjugation

   Conjugation of flatter (see also Appendix:French verbs)

		simple			compound
infinitive		flatter			avoir flatté
gerund		en flattant			en ayant flatté
present participle		flattant
past participle		flatté
person		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
indicative		je (j’)	tu	il	nous	vous	ils
simple tenses	present	flatte	flattes	flatte	flattons	flattez	flattent
	imperfect	flattais	flattais	flattait	flattions	flattiez	flattaient
	past historic1	flattai	flattas	flatta	flattâmes	flattâtes	flattèrent
	future	flatterai	flatteras	flattera	flatterons	flatterez	flatteront
	conditional	flatterais	flatterais	flatterait	flatterions	flatteriez	flatteraient
compound tenses	present perfect	Use the present tense of avoir followed by the past participle
	pluperfect	Use the imperfect tense of avoir followed by the past participle
	past anterior1	Use the past historic tense of avoir followed by the past participle
	future perfect	Use the future tense of avoir followed by the past participle
	conditional perfect	Use the conditional tense of avoir followed by the past participle
subjunctive		que je (j’)	que tu	qu’il	que nous	que vous	qu’ils
simple tenses	present	flatte	flattes	flatte	flattions	flattiez	flattent
	imperfect1	flattasse	flattasses	flattât	flattassions	flattassiez	flattassent
compound tenses	past	Use the present subjunctive of avoir followed by the past participle
	pluperfect1	Use the imperfect subjunctive of avoir followed by the past participle
imperative		–	tu	–	nous	vous	–
		—	flatte	—	flattons	flattez	—
1literary tenses

Derived terms

• flatterie
• flatteur