flirtation en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- /flɚˈteɪʃn̩/ (General-American)
- (Southern-England) audio
- /fləˈteɪʃn̩/ (Received-Pronunciation)
Etymology
Etymology tree English flirt Proto-Indo-European *-tis Proto-Indo-European *-Hō Proto-Indo-European *-tiHō Proto-Italic *-tiō Latin -tiō Latin -ātiōlbor. Old French -ationbor. Middle English -acioun English -ation English flirtation From flirt + -ation.
Meanings
-
(countable, uncountable) Playing at courtship; coquetry.
The inquest on keeper Davidson was duly held, and at the commencement seemed likely to cause Tony Palliser less anxiety than he had expected. Northrop knew all about Tony's flirtation with Lucy Davidson, but it also knew a good deal more about that lady than Tony did, and exculpated him.
1907 January, Harold Bindloss, chapter 4, in The Dust of Conflict, 1st Canadian edition, Toronto, Ont.: McLeod & Allen, →OCLC:
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(countable, uncountable) An instance of flirting.
Courtenaye augured well from the profound silence; suddenly a burst of applause shook the house, the curtain had fallen, and Booth sprang to Walter's side, who was still engaged in an animated flirtation with an actress who was to play in the afterpiece.
1837, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], Ethel Churchill: Or, The Two Brides. […], volume II, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, pages 70–71:
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(countable, uncountable) A period of experimentation with or interest in a particular idea or activity.
The elimination of vacuum-braked wagons would be slowed down, and the Western Region's flirtation with diesel-hydraulic locomotives was questioned.
2023 March 8, Howard Johnston, “Was Marples the real railway wrecker?”, in RAIL, number 978, page 52:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| flirtations | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Deriveds
flirtatious · flirtationship · flirtationless · cyberflirtation · flirtational
Relateds
Translations (14)
bg флирт (playing at courtship) · es coqueteo (playing at courtship) · es flirteo (playing at courtship) · ru флирт (playing at courtship) · es dragoneo (playing at courtship) · ca flirteig (playing at courtship) · hy սիրախաղ (playing at courtship) · eo amindumado (playing at courtship) · el φλερτάρισμα (playing at courtship) · es coquetería (playing at courtship) · es flirt (playing at courtship) · el φλερτ (playing at courtship) · gd mànran (playing at courtship) · eo amindumo (playing at courtship)