flibbertigibbet

Etymology

Comes from late Middle English [Term?], first attested in 1549 and probably imitative of the nonsense uttered by gossips. From around 1603 it was also used for an imp or fiend and as a name of the Devil. Alternatively, but far less likely, it may be an alteration of flibbergib ("toady, sycophant"), possibly from a hypothetical Old Norse *fleipra-geipa(re) ("babbler of nonsense"), 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 also the ancestor of the flip- part of English flippant. Note that flibbergib originally meant "chatterer".