Etymology

flounder

floun·der
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Today it means: A European species of flatfish having dull brown colouring with reddish-brown blotches; fluke, European flounder (Platichthys flesus). Full definition →

Middle English flowndre ← Anglo-Norman floundre ← Old Northern French flondre
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flounder · noun1

  1. Proto-Germanic · derived from*flunþrijǭ
  2. Old Norse · derived fromflyðra
  3. Old Northern French · derived fromflondre
  4. Anglo-Norman · derived fromfloundre
  5. Middle English · inherited fromflowndre
  6. English todayflounder

From Middle English flowndre, from Anglo-Norman floundre, from Old Northern French flondre, from Old Norse flyðra, from Proto-Germanic *flunþrijǭ. Cognate with Danish flynder, German Flunder, Swedish flundra.

flounder · verb2

  1. Dutch · derived fromflodderen“wade”
  2. English todayflounder

Possibly from the noun. Probably a blend of flounce + founder or a blend of founder + blunder or from Dutch flodderen (“wade”). See other terms beginning with fl, such as flutter, flitter, float, flap, flub, flip.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.