Definition of flatter

The word "flatter" derives from the Middle English word "flateren," which meant "to praise excessively" or "to compliment insincerely." The origins of this word can be traced back to the Old French "flatrer," which itself was derived from the Latin "flatuere," which meant "blown" or "inflated." This term, which originally referred to someone who was overly praiseworthy or excessive in their compliments, likely evolved from the Latin meaning of "flatuere" due to the concept of being filled with hot air or excessive wind, or, as it would be phrased in Middle English, being filled with "inflated praise" or "blown compliments." In other words, the process by which one's puffery is injected into the air, as if when blowing into a balloon, led to the evolution of the meaning behind "flatter" as we know it today. In fact, the Modern English term "windbag" is derived from the Old English term "wendbah," which could be interpreted as a "spinning stomacher," and was used to refer to someone who was filled with hot air, or, in contemporary terms, an "inflated ego." So when someone states something excessively positive, especially when insincere, and goes above and beyond the normal bounds of politeness or social nicety, we can trace that behavior back to the airy distortions of Old French and Latin, and the metaphorical assignation of descriptions based on wind and blowing.