▪ I. † ˈflatter, n.1 Obs.
Forms: 4–5 flatour, (vlatour), 5 flater, 6 flatter.
[a. OF. flatere, flateour, flateur, agent-n. f. flater to flatter.]
= flatterer.
| 1340 Ayenb. 256 Ulatours and lyeȝeres byeþ to grat cheap ine hare cort. c 1400 Cato's Morals 8 in Cursor M. App. iv. 1669 Alle fals flaters. a 1450 Knt. de la Tour (1868) 123 Beter is the frende that prikithe thanne the flatour that oyntethe. 1559 Mirr. Mag., Mowbray's Banishm. xi, And whyle the rest prouyded for this thing, I flatter I..brake fayth and promise both. |
▪ II. flatter, n.2
(ˈflætə(r))
[f. flat v. + -er1.]
1. A workman who makes something (e.g. a blank or planchet, a hide or skin, etc.) flat.
| 1714 Mandeville Fab. Bees (1725) I. 249 The silver-spinner, the flatter, the wire-drawer..and the refiner. 1741 Chambers Cycl., Flatter or Flattener. See Coining. 1885 C. T. Davis Manuf. Leather xxix. 497 The sides next go to a flatter, who levels off the shanks..with a currier's knife. |
2. A tool used in making things flat, e.g. a very broad-faced hammer used by smiths.
| 1874 Knight Dict. Mech. I. 878/2 Flatter (Wire-drawing), a draw-plate with a flat orifice, to draw out flat strips, such as watch-springs, skirt-wire [etc.]. 1888 Lockwood's Dict. Mech. Engin., Flatter, a species of hammer used by smiths. Its use is to finish over broad surfaces which have been brought to size by the sledge and set hammer. |
▪ III. † ˈflatter, n.3 Obs.
[f. flatter v.1]
Flattery.
| 1593–4 Sylvester Profit Imprisonm. 437 O that hee never had prefer'd the Serpents flatter Before th' eternall Law of all the Worlds Creator. |
▪ IV. flatter, n.4
(ˈflætə(r))
[f. flat n.3 4 b + -er1.]
One who couples and uncouples trucks at a flat in a coal-mine.
| 1894 Times 11 Oct. 4/6 After two years or so..the trapper is advanced to the rank of a flatter. His occupation then consists in coupling or uncoupling the trucks or wagons. 1921 Dict. Occup. Terms (1927) §043 Flat keeper, flat coupler-on; flatman, flatter; couples full and uncouples empty tubs at ‘flat’ or working face terminus of haulage system. |
▪ V. flatter, v.1
(ˈflætə(r))
Forms: α. 3 flatteren, 4–6 flater(e(n, (5 flateryn), 6 flattir, 6– flatter. β. 4 vlaterien.
[Of somewhat doubtful etymology. In sense it represents OF. flate-r (mod.F. flatter), = Pr. flatar; the primary meaning of this word is believed to be ‘to flatten down, smooth’; hence ‘to stroke with the hand, caress’ (a sense still current in Fr.); this sense, as well as that of OF. flater, -ir to dash to the ground, is plausibly accounted for by derivation from the Teut. word which we have as flat a. The normal form which flat-er should assume when adapted into E. is the rare Sc. flat v. As ME. did not adapt Fr. vbs. by addition of a suffix -er to the stem, or adopt them in their infinitive form, the Eng. flatter cannot be paralleled with Ger. flattiren, MDu. ˈflatteren, Sw. flattera, which are normally formed adaptations from the French; it might however have arisen by association of the vb. with its derivatives, OF. flatere, -our flatter n.1, and flaterie flattery. More probably, however, the native flatter v.2, an onomatopœia expressive of light repeated movement, may have developed a sense resembling the primary sense of the F. word, and hence have been accepted as its equivalent. Cf. ON. flaðra, MSw. flakra, flikra, to flatter, all prob. of onomatopœic origin. It may be significant that in the earliest instance of ME. flatteren it occurs as a various reading for flakeren, which corresponds precisely to MSw. flakra just cited.]
† 1. a. intr. Of an animal, bird, etc.: To show delight or fondness (by wagging the tail, making a caressing sound, etc.). Const. upon, with. Obs.
| c 1386 Chaucer Merch. T. 815 Lyk to the scorpioun..That flaterest with thin heed whan thou wilt stynge. 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) II. 431 Þat foules at Diomedes temple springeþ water and flatereþ wiþ þe Grees. 1583 Hollyband Campo di Fior 41 Here is a meery litle dogge: See how he flattereth with his tale. 1607 Topsell Four-f. Beasts 105 She [the Cat] hath one voice to beg and to complain..another among hir own kind, by flattring, by hissing, by puffing, by spitting. Ibid. 160 Dogges..who would fawne & gently flatter vpon all those which came chastly & religiously to worship there. |
† b. trans. Rarely used in Fr. sense: To touch or stroke lightly and caressingly. Obs.
| [1580 Baret Alv. F 666 To feele and handle gently, to flatter, to dallie, and deceiue, palpo.] 1599 H. Buttes Dyets drie Dinner M, Trout is a fish that loveth to be flattered and clawed in the water. 1650 [see flattering ppl. a. 4]. 1725 Bradley Fam. Dict. s.v. Bee, The Bees that compose his Train..flatter him with their Trumps. |
2. To try to please or win the favour of (a person) by obsequious speech or conduct; to court, fawn upon. † Also intr. to flatter with.
| 1340 Ayenb. 61 Þe blondere defendeþ and excuseþ and wryeþ þe kueades and þe zennes of ham þet he wyle ulateri. c 1380 Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 344 Þes men..flateren hem, for þei hopen to haue wynnyng of hem. 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) III. 315 Ȝif þou woldest flatere wiþ Denys þe kyng, þou schuldest nouȝt wasche þese wortes. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 164 Flateryn, adulor. 1559 Mirr. Mag., Worcester ii, To frayne the truth, the living for to flatter. 1593 Shakes. Rich. II, ii. i. 88, I mocke my name (great King) to flatter thee. a 1744 Pope Epitaph xv, One poor Poet..Who never flatter'd Folks like you. 1764 Goldsm. Trav. 362 Yet think not..I mean to flatter kings, or court the great. 1830 Tennyson Mermaid 43 The bold merry mermen..would sue me, and woo me, and flatter me. 1842 Lytton Zanoni i. i. 5 Yet was he thoroughly unsocial. He formed no friends, flattered no patrons. |
| absol. 1393 Langl. P. Pl. C. ix. 147 Ancres and heremites þat eten bote at nones, And freres þat flateren not. 1413 Pilgr. Sowle (Caxton 1483) iv. xxxiii. 82 Them nedeth nought to glosen ne to flateren, for..hope of yeftes. |
3. To praise or compliment unduly or insincerely. † Const. of. † Also in weaker sense, to gloss over, palliate (faults), speak too leniently to (an offender). † Formerly also intr. to flatter with.
| a 1225 Ancr. R. 222 (MS. Cleop. C. vi) Men..þet flattereð [other texts faltreð, flakereð] hire of freolac. 1535 Coverdale Prov. xxviii. 23 He that rebuketh a man, shall fynde more fauoure at y⊇ last, then he that flatreth him. 1552 Latimer Serm. 31 Jan., Here learne..not to flatter with any body when they do..wickedly, for Christ, perceauing his disciples to be vnbeleuers, flattered them not, but..rebuked them for their faultes. 1659 Ray Corr. (1848) 2, I would not be flattered, I am not so fond of my own conceits. 1738 Pope Epil. Sat. i. 86 Let..ev'ry Fool and Knave Be grac'd thro' Life, and flatter'd in his Grave. Mod. ‘Your beautiful voice—’ ‘Ah! you are flattering me.’ |
| absol. 1500–20 ? Dunbar Poems (1893) 310 Wryte I of liberalitie..Than will thay say I flatter quyte. 1548 Hall Chron. Edw. IV, 198, I neither dare nor wil write..lest..some men might thynke that I flattered a litle. 1782 Cowper Table T. 88 The lie that flatters I abhor the most. |
4. To gratify the vanity or self-esteem of; to make self-complacent; to make (one) feel honoured or distinguished. Also, To tickle (a person's vanity).
| c 1400 Rom. Rose 5941 Another shal have as moche..for right nought..If he can flater hir to hir pay. 1560 Bible (Genev.) Ps. xxxvi. 2 He flattereth himselfe in his owne eyes. 1601 Shakes. Jul. C. ii. i. 208 When I tell him, he hates Flatterers, He says, he does; being then most flattered. 1717 Lady M. W. Montagu Let. to Abbé Conti 1 Apr., It is the emperor's interest to flatter them. 1791 Mrs. Radcliffe Rom. Forest viii, I am..flattered by the distinction you offer me. 1845 M. Pattison Ess. (1889) I. 22 This was intended to flatter the bishop's vanity. a 1864 Prescott (Webster), Others he flattered by asking their advice. |
| transf. 1864 Tennyson Aylmer's F. 175 A splendid presence flattering the poor roofs. |
5. To play upon the vanity or impressionableness of (a person); to beguile or persuade with artful blandishments; to coax, wheedle. Const. from, into, to, out of. † Also intr. to flatter with.
| 1500–20 Dunbar Poems xxx. 43 In me was falset with every wicht to flatter. 1537 Matthew Judg. xvi. 5 Flatter with hym [1539 Taverner Flatter him] & se wherin hys great strenght lyeth. 1579 Gosson Sch. Abuse (Arb.) 21 As waywarde children the more they bee flatered the worse they are. 1591 Troub. Raigne K. John ii. (1611) 82 For Priests and women must be flattered. 1592 Warner Alb. Eng. vii. xxxiv. (1612) 167 He flattered his Neeces from their mother. 1650 Fuller Pisgah ii. i. §24. 65 Or did he hope..to flatter Heaven into a consent? 1667 Milton P.L. x. 42 Man should be seduc't And flatter'd out of all, believing lies Against his Maker. 1706 Phillips (ed. Kersey), Flatter, to coaks, soothe up or wheedle. 1833 Alison Hist. Europe (1849) II. ix. §51. 276 You may easily flatter a tyrant: but to flatter twenty-five millions of people is as impossible as to flatter the Deity himself. |
| absol. 1611 Bible 1 Esdras iv. 31 The King was faine to flatter, that she might be reconciled to him againe. |
6. To beguile, charm away (sorrow, etc.); also, to beguile, charm to (tears). arch.
| 1580 Sidney Arcadia i. (1629) 52 A place for pleasantnesse, not vnfit to flatter solitarinesse. 1597 Shakes. Rich. III, iv. iv. 245 Flatter my sorrows with report of it. 1820 Keats Eve. St. Agnes iii, Music's golden tongue Flatter'd to tears this aged man. 1871 R. Ellis tr. Catullus lxviii. 39 If nor books I send nor flatter sorrow to silence. |
7. a. To encourage or cheer (a person) with hopeful or pleasing representations; to inspire with hope, usually on insufficient grounds. Also, To foster (hopes). † Formerly also intr. to flatter with.
| 1377 Langl. P. Pl. B. xx. 109 Fortune gan flateren..þo fewe..And byhight hem longe lyf. 1393 [see flattering ppl. a. 2.] 1587 Fleming Contn. Holinshed III. 1351/1 My lord, you are verie sicke, I will not flatter with you. 1592 Shakes. Ven. & Ad. 989 Hope..doth flatter thee in thoughts vnlikely. 1597 ― 2 Hen. IV, i. iii. 29 Flatt'ring himselfe with [Qo. in] Proiect of a power Much smaller, then the smallest of his Thoughts. 1601 ― Twel. N. i. v. 322 Desire him not to flatter with his Lord, Nor hold him up with hopes; I am not for him. 1730–1 Swift's Lett. (1766) II. 123 Now were you in vast hopes you should hear no more from me..but don't flatter yourself. 1762 H. Walpole Vertue's Anecd. Paint. (1765) I. vi. 137 The Carews..were flattered with the hopes of this match. 1794 Paley Evid. ii. v. (1817) 23 It was his business to have flattered the prevailing hopes. 1842 Tennyson Two Voices 204 Wilt thou make everything a lie To flatter me that I may die? 1855 Prescott Philip II, I. ii. ix. 243 Men had flattered themsleves..with the expectation of some change for the better. 1890 Daily News 24 Nov. 3/5 The Irish filly never flattered her backers. |
| absol. 1593 Shakes. Lucr. 172 Desire..sweetely flatters. 1913 Field 15 Nov. 1046/2 Two furlongs from home Maiden Erlegh looked most dangerous, but he flattered only to deceive. 1928 Daily Express 2 Aug. 12 Smirke..came through well..to settle Goodwin and Dakota, who had flattered in the run home. |
b. To please with the belief, idea, or suggestion that. Now chiefly refl.
| 1592 Shakes. Ven. & Ad. 978 Reuiuing ioy bids her reioyce, And flatters her, it is Adonis voyce. 1711 Addison Spect. No. 165 ¶1 Their People might flatter themselves that Things are not so bad as they really are. 1753 Hume Let. 5 Jan. in Burton Life & Corr. (1846) I. 378 My friends flatter me..that I have succeeded. 1782 Priestley Corrupt. Chr. I. Pref. 13, I flatter myself..I have given reasonable satisfaction. a 1796 Burns ‘As I was a wandering’, I flatter my fancy I may get anither. 1844 Disraeli Coningsby v. iv, They flattered themselves it might be done. 1883 Stevenson Treasure Isl. iv. xvi, We flattered ourselves we should be able to give a good account of a half-dozen. |
8. To ‘caress’, gratify (the eye, ear, etc.).
Johnson describes this as ‘a sense purely Gallick’; but it occurs in his own writings, and is now established.
| 1695 Dryden Observ. Du Fresnoy's Art Paint. 130 A Consort of Voices..pleasingly fills the Ears and flatters them. 1722 Wollaston Relig. Nat. ix. 206 He might..be flattered with some verdures and the smiles of a few daisies on the banks of the road. 1882 Stevenson New Arab. Nts. (1884) 120 The beauty of the stone flattered the young clergyman's eyes. |
| absol. 1750 Johnson Rambler No. 80 ¶2 The Hill flatters with an extensive View. |
9. a. To represent too favourably; to exaggerate the good points of. Said esp. of painters, or the like.
| 1581 G. Pettie Guazzo's Civ. Conv. i. (1586) 4 But if I flatter not my selfe, I have a whole minde within my crasie bodie. 1591 Shakes. Two Gent. iv. iv. 192 Yet the Painter flatter'd her a little. 1665 Boyle Occas. Refl. vi. x. 222 If Art have not flatter'd Nature. 1765 H. Walpole Vertue's Anecd. Paint. IV. 18 Oliver..said to him ‘Mr. Lely, I desire you would use all your skill to paint my picture truly like me, and not flatter me at all.’ 1768 ― Hist. Doubts 95 How much the characters of princes are liable to be flattered or misrepresented. 1885 E. Garrett At any Cost x. 169 My friends do not think that my portrait flatters me. |
| absol. 1634 Prynne Documents agst. Prynne (Camden) 25 A Queene, in whose prayse it is impossible for a poett to fayn, or orator to flatter. 1758 Home Agis Ded., A grateful imagination adorns its benefactor with every virtue, and even flatters with sincerity. |
b. To show to the best advantage, make effective, emphasize the good points of.
| 1904 Westm. Gaz. 11 Feb. 4/2 A dark blue velvet will flatter diamonds remarkably. Ibid. 27 Aug. 2/3 The wickets at Nottingham..flatter batsmen enormously. 1909 Ibid. 27 Feb. 15/1 A good white shoe worn with a white dress flatters the foot immensely. |
10. With adverbs. to flatter in (nonce-use): to usher in or help forward with flattery. to flatter up: † (a) to indulge unduly, pamper, ‘coddle’; (b) to flatter extravagantly; to work (oneself) up into self-complacency; (c) nonce-use, to call up (a smile) by flattery.
| 1588 Shakes. L.L.L. v. ii. 824 To flatter vp these powers of mine with rest. 1669 Dryden Tyrannick Love iv. i, I, like the Fiends, will flatter in his Doom. 1848 J. Waterworth Canons & Decrees Trent 38 No one ought to flatter himself up with faith alone. 1891 G. Meredith One of our Conq. III. xiii. 273 ‘We go’, Victor said to Nataly, and flattered-up a smile about her lips. |
Hence ˈflattered ppl. a.
| c 1440 Promp. Parv. 164 Flateryd, adulatus. 1665 Manley Grotius' Low C. Warres 165 His Mind was so elevated into a flattered Conceit of himself. 1714 Shaftesbury Misc. Refl. v. i, They become, like flatter'd Princes, impatient of Contradiction. 1725 Young Love Fame i. 13 Flatter'd crimes of a licentious age, Reproach our silence. 1888 Sat. Rev. 23 June 773/2 The flattered monarch refused to interfere. |
▪ VI. † ˈflatter, v.2 Obs.
[Onomatopœic; cf. flacker, flutter, flitter.]
intr. To float, flutter.
| c 1375 Barbour Troy-bk. ii. 1752 He..Flatterand amange þe wawes wode With gret force of his armes gane swyme. ? a 1450 Chaucer Knt.'s T. 1104 (Petworth MS.) Aboue her hede her dowues flateringe [other texts flikeringe]. a 1803 Sir Patrick Spens in Child Ballads iii. lviii. 27/1 And mony was the feather-bed That flattered on the faem. |