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In the 14th century, if someone told you that you had flair (or flayre as it was then commonly spelled), you might very well take offense. This is because in Middle English flayre meant "an odor." The word is derived from the Old French verb flairier ("to give off an odor"), which came, in turn, from Late Latin flagrare, itself an alteration of fragrare. (The English words fragrant and fragrance also derive from fragrare.) The "odor" sense of flair fell out of use, but in the 19th century, English speakers once again borrowed flair from the French—this time (influenced by the Modern French use of the word for the sense of smell) to indicate a discriminating sense or instinctive discernment.
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Examples of flair in a Sentence
Alicia Geigel, Southern Living, 29 Jan. 2025
With her own individual flair, Twigs is drawing a connection between party music past and present.
—Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 28 Jan. 2025
Stadium food is known for its flair for the dramatic.
—Kendrick Calfee, Kansas City Star, 24 Jan. 2025
Think bold reds, glints of gold, and just the right amount of flair to take you from polite family dinners to full-on bar crawls.
—Crystal Chen, Vogue, 24 Jan. 2025
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Dictionary Entries Near flair
Cite this Entry
“Flair.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/flair. Accessed 2 Feb. 2025.
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flair
noun
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