flibbertigibbet
/ˌflɪbətiˈdʒɪbɪt/
"flibbertigibbet" is a 15-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“flibbertigibbet” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 15
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - An offbeat, skittish person; especially said of a young woman.
Corpus desk
Index EN-flibbertigibbet · flibbertigibbet · English
flibbertigibbet · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 15 letters
- VOW-5 5 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "F" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | flibbertigibbet |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˌflɪbətiˈdʒɪbɪt/ |
| Letters | 15 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “flibbertigibbet” in English
Rare enough to double-check
flibbertigibbet is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˌflɪbətiˈdʒɪbɪt/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.
The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for flibbertigibbet, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.
Etymologically, the entry records: From late Middle English [Term?] first attested 1549 probably imitative of nonsense uttered by gossips. Usage as an imp or fiend and name of the Devil from around 1603. Alternatively (but far less likely), an alteration of flibbergib (“toady, sycophant”), d… The correct English form is flibbertigibbet, spelled F-L-I-B-B-E-R-T-I-G-I-B-B-E-T.
Definition
- 1An offbeat, skittish person; especially said of a young woman.
- 2A flighty person; someone regarded as silly, irresponsible, or scatterbrained, especially someone who chatters or gossips.
- 3An imp, a fiend.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how flibbertigibbet appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
All this responsibility at such an early age made her a bitchy flibbertigibbet.
“Thou flibbertigibbet,” cried Catwezle, who had been listening, “all is clear as springwater. This Rapkyn was a sorcerer!”
Etymology
From late Middle English [Term?] first attested 1549 probably imitative of nonsense uttered by gossips. Usage as an imp or fiend and name of the Devil from around 1603. Alternatively (but far less likely), an alteration of flibbergib (“toady, sycophant”), derived potentially from an Old Norse *fleipra-geipa(re) (“babbler of nonsense”). The hypothetical Old Norse term would have been a compound of fleipra (a variant of fleipa (“to babble, tattle”)), and geipa (“to talk nonsense, to boast”) or geipare (“one who speaks nonsense, braggart”). fleipa is notably the ancestor to the flip- part of the English word flippant. It is of note that the original meaning of flibbergib was “chatterer”.
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.