flirt
verb
[ fləːt ]
• behave as though sexually attracted to someone, but playfully rather than with serious intentions.
• "she began to tease him, flirting with other men in front of him"
Similar:
trifle with,
toy with,
tease,
lead on,
philander with,
dally with,
make romantic advances to,
court,
woo,
pull,
chat up,
make eyes at,
make sheep's eyes at,
give the come-on to,
come on to,
be all over,
vamp,
set one's cap at,
• (of a bird) wave or open and shut (its wings or tail) with a quick flicking motion.
• "a moorhen stepped out of the reeds, flirting its white tail"
flirt
noun
• a person who habitually flirts.
• "Jim was an outrageous flirt"
Similar:
tease,
coquette,
heartbreaker,
trifler,
philanderer,
seductress,
siren,
femme fatale,
Mata Hari,
Delilah,
enchantress,
sorceress,
Circe,
Lorelei,
vamp,
fizgig,
gallant,
Origin:
mid 16th century: apparently symbolic, the elements fl- and -irt both suggesting sudden movement; compare with flick and spurt. The original verb senses were ‘give someone a sharp blow’ and ‘sneer at’; the earliest noun senses were ‘joke, jibe’ and ‘flighty girl’ (defined by Dr Johnson as ‘a pert young hussey’), with a notion originally of cheeky behaviour, later of playfully amorous behaviour.
