Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Date: 1300-1400
Origin: Perhaps from the sound

flap

2 verb
     
flap2 past tense and past participle flapped, present participle flapping
1 [intransitive and transitive]HBB if a bird flaps its wings, it moves them up and down in order to fly
2 [intransitive and transitive] to move quickly up and down or from side to side, often making a noise:
The flags were flapping in the breeze.
Flap your arms to keep warm.
3 [intransitive] British English informal to behave in an excited or nervous way:
There's no need to flap!
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

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