▪ I. flaunt, n. Now rare.
(flɔːnt)
Also 6–7 flant.
[f. flaunt v.]
1. The action or habit of flaunting, or making a display. Also † in or upon the flaunt.
| a 1625 Boys Wks. (1630) 403 The Flant and froth of a faire phrase without soundnesse of Argument. a 1625 Fletcher False One ii. iii, Dost thou come hither with thy flourishes, Thy flaunts, and faces, to abuse men's manners. a 1625 ― Woman's Prize ii. i, Is this stern woman still upon the flaunt Of bold defiance? Ibid. ii. vi, They are i' th' flaunt, sir. 1830 Holmes Our Yankee Girls 19 Who heeds the silken tassel's flaunt Beside the golden corn? |
† 2. Something used to make a show; showy dress, finery. Obs.
| 1590 H. Smith Wedding Garment 39 So the wedding Garment shall seeme better then all the flants of vanity. 1611 Shakes. Wint. T. iv. iv. 23 In these my borrowed Flaunts. |
▪ II. flaunt, v.
(flɔːnt)
Also 6–8 flant.
[Of unknown origin.
The monosyllables of similar ending are (exc. perh. gaunt) all from Fr.; but no Fr. word is known which could be the source. Possibly the word may be an onomatopœia formed with a vague recollection of fly, flout and vaunt. Prof. Skeat compares mod. Sw. dial. flankt loosely, flutteringly (f. flanka to flutter, waver), also mod. Ger. (Bavarian) flandern to flutter, flaunt; but the late appearance of the word in Eng. makes it doubtful whether any connexion exists.]
1. intr. Of plumes, banners, etc.: To wave gaily or proudly. Of plants: To wave so as to display their beauty.
| 1576 Gascoigne Steele Gl. (Arb.) 63 [A soldier] Whose fethers flaunt, and flicker in the winde As though he were all onely to be markt. 1634 [see flaunting ppl. a. 1.] 1717 E. Fenton tr. Secundus' Bas. ii. Poems 195 Where, flaunting in immortal Bloom, The Musk-Rose scents the verdant Gloom. 1789 Mrs. Piozzi Journ. France I. 59 Orange and lemon trees flaunt over the walls. 1814 Southey Roderick i. 36 Banners flaunting to the sun and breeze. 1844 Hood The Mary ix. No pennons brave Flaunted upon the mast. 1859 W. S. Coleman Woodlands (1866) 149 Though woodbines flaunt and roses glow. |
2. a. Of persons: To walk or move about so as to display one's finery; to display oneself in unbecomingly splendid or gaudy attire; to obtrude oneself boastfully, impudently, or defiantly on the public view. Often quasi-trans. to flaunt it (away, out, forth). b. Of things: To be extravagantly gaudy or glaringly conspicuous in appearance.
| 1566 Drant Hor. Sat. i. ii. B, In suits of silkes to flaunte. 1583 Stubbes Anat. Abus. ii. (1882) 108 That flaunt it out in their saten doblets. 1590 H. Smith Wedding Garment Serm. (1592) 335 Else when our backs flant it like Courtiers, our soules shall strip like beggers. 1592 Greene Groatsw. Wit (1617) 28 Lamilia came flaunting by, garnished with the iewels whereof shee beguiled him. 1652–62 Heylin Cosmogr. i. (1682) 124 The Wife of every Mechanick will flant it in her Silks and Taffaties. 1712 Arbuthnot John Bull i. iv, You loiter about alehouses..or flaunt about the streets in your new-gilt chariot. 1734 Pope Ess. Man iv. 196 One flaunts in rags, one flutters in brocade. 1748 Richardson Clarissa Wks. 1883 VII. 312 They will flaunt it away in a chariot and six. 1820 W. Irving Sketch Bk. (1821) II. 113 The Miss Lambs might now be seen flaunting along the street in French bonnets. 1840 Thackeray Bedford-Row Consp. i. (1869) 270 He could not bear to see Sir George and my lady flaunting in their grand pew. 1847 Tennyson Princ. Prol. 140 If our old halls could change their sex, and flaunt With prudes for proctors, dowagers for deans [etc.]. |
| fig. 1581 Sidney Astr. & Stella iii. 3 Poems (Grosart 1877) I. 8 Let dainty wits crie on the Sisters nine..Or Pindares apes, flaunt they in phrases fine. 1624 Gee Foot out of Snare v. 39 Flanting with the vain, aeriall, fantastick bubble of an Episcopall Title. |
3. trans. To display ostentatiously or obtrusively; to flourish, parade, show off.
| 1827 Hood Two Peacocks Bedfont ii, The Summer air That flaunts their dewy robes. 1840 Thackeray Paris Sk.-bk. (1872) 8 The haberdashers flaunt long strips of gaudy calicoes. 1871 R. Ellis Catullus x. 17 Then supremely myself to flaunt before her. 1879 Froude Cæsar ix. 98 They [the pirates] flaunted their sails in front of Ostia itself. 1886 Sidgwick Outlines Hist. Ethics ii. §4. 33 The eccentricities with which..Diogenes flaunted his fortitude and freedom. |
Hence ˈflaunting vbl. n.
| 1729 Mrs. Pendarves in Mrs. Delany's Corr. 230, I told him of your flauntings. 1876 M. E. Braddon J. Haggard's Dau. II. 59 ‘There'll be fine flaunting when she's a married woman and her own mistress.’ |
Add: 4. In the sense of flout v. 1.
This usage clearly arose by confusion, and is widely considered erroneous.
| 1923 C. Garstin Owl's House xv. 161 He achieved strong local popularity, a priceless asset to a man who lives by flaunting the law. 1934 Elliott & Merrill Social Disorganization xxv. 573 When self-support appears easy, the temptation to flaunt family control is very great. 1938 N. Coward Stately Homes of Eng. in Operette (libretto) I. vii. 55 Although we sometimes flaunt our family conventions, Our good intentions Mustn't be misconstrued. 1973 Times 25 Jan. 17/6 The Prime Minister in a broadcast on Wednesday (January 17)..referred to ‘flaunting’ the regulations. 1987 Listener 24 Sept. 25/1 Fanny Parkes, an intrepid type who flaunted convention by wearing trousers and sailing up the Jumna..accompanied only by a native crew. |