Word of the Day

: June 17, 2019

flounce

verb FLOUNSS

What It Means

1 a : to move with exaggerated jerky or bouncy motions

b : to go with sudden determination

2 : flounder, struggle

flounce in Context

"With skirts flouncing, 15 young women ascended the steps … to a traditional Mexican birthday song played in a mariachi style." — Laurel Wamsley and Vanessa Romo, NPR, 19 July 2017

"The Master of the Music flounced out with the choir flouncing out in perfect unison behind him." — Terry Pratchett, Unseen Academicals, 2009

Did You Know?

The story behind flounce is an elusive one. The verb's earliest recorded uses in English occurred in the mid-1500s, and some scholars believe it is related to the Norwegian verb flunsa (meaning "to hurry" or "to work briskly") and Swedish flunsa ("to fall with a splash" or "to plunge"). The connection is uncertain, however, because the flunsa verbs did not appear in their respective languages until the 18th century, long after flounce surfaced in English. A second distinct sense of flounce, referring to a strip or ruffle of fabric attached on one edge, did not appear in English until the 18th century. This flounce derives from the Middle English frouncen, meaning "to curl."