FLUMMERNOUN
a state of agitation, excitement, or confusion ...1873 Eng. dial. VERB 1. to repeat indistinctly, to mumble ...1533 obs. 2. to deceive by flattery, to humbug ...1764 obs. ETYMOLOGY vb. 1. apparently onomatopoeic vb. 2. a back-formation from flummery, mere flattery or empty compliment, nonsense, humbug FIRST DOCUMENTED USE 1533 - see Example below EXAMPLE "...for we fantasy as though the very worke & labour of flummering the Aue Marie is very acceptable to our Lady." From: Life of Hugh Latimer (1533) in John Foxe's Actes and Monuments of these Latter and Perillous Dayes (The Book of Martyrs), 1563 SOURCES • A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles, James Murray, 1887-1933 • The Century Dictionary and Encyclopedia, William Dwight Whitney, 1889-1891 • The English Dialect Dictionary, Joseph Wright, 1898-1905
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