entry
flat
/flæt/level, smooth, or lacking height or variation
From O.Norse, from Proto-Germanic flat (spread out).
from PIE root *plat- "to spread."
from Proto-Germanic *flata- (source also of Old Saxon flat "flat, shallow," Old High German flaz "flat, level," Old...
+1 more sourcefrom Old Norse flatr "flat,"
+1 more sourcefrom Old Norse flatr "flat,"
+1 more sourceWord Ancestry
from PIE root *plat- "to spread."
from Proto-Germanic *flata- (source also of Old Saxon flat "flat, shallow," Old High German flaz "flat, level," Old...
+1 more sourcefrom Old Norse flatr "flat,"
+1 more sourcefrom Old Norse flatr "flat,"
+1 more sourcePicture a Norse speaker pointing across a broad, unbroken field and saying flatr: “flat.” English borrowed that useful little word from Old Norse, probably during the Middle English period, when Scandinavian and English speakers were sharing vocabulary as readily as marketplaces and marriage beds. Its earliest English sense, recorded around 1300, was physical—stretched out on the ground—and from there it spread into remarkably different rooms: a flat roof, a flat voice, a flat tire, and even a flat musical note that has fallen below its intended pitch. The family resemblance reaches beyond Germanic speech: the same ancient idea of spreading appears in relatives such as plateau and platen, while placenta was named a “flat cake” because of its shape. Etymologists debate whether the ultimate reconstructed form should be written *plat- or *pleth₂-, but the image survives either way: flat is what happens when height gives up and spreads itself across the world.
The Story
Picture a Norse speaker pointing across a broad, unbroken field and saying flatr: “flat.” English borrowed that useful little word from Old Norse, probably during the Middle English period, when Scandinavian and English speakers were sharing vocabulary as readily as marketplaces and marriage beds. Its earliest English sense, recorded around 1300, was physical—stretched out on the ground—and from there it spread into remarkably different rooms: a flat roof, a flat voice, a flat tire, and even a flat musical note that has fallen below its intended pitch. The family resemblance reaches beyond Germanic speech: the same ancient idea of spreading appears in relatives such as plateau and platen, while placenta was named a “flat cake” because of its shape. Etymologists debate whether the ultimate reconstructed form should be written *plat- or *pleth₂-, but the image survives either way: flat is what happens when height gives up and spreads itself across the world.
Modern Usage
A person, especially a woman, described as having little or no breast or buttock development.
Notable References
- Urban Dictionary entries describing a person as having no breasts or buttocks
Kin & Kindred
From 'flat'·spread out, level, shallow
Derived Terms
English words from this root
Sources
Free Dictionary
Urban Dictionary
Wiktionary