A strip of decorative fabric sewn onto a garment as a trim or border, or to move with bouncy, exaggerated motions showing annoyance.
The fabric meaning comes from French 'fronce' (gathered material), while the verb meaning (to move dramatically) may derive from Scandinavian 'flunsa' (to hurry). Both senses were well-established by the 18th century.
A flounce of fabric and a flounce of movement came from different languages but ended up as the same word—one describes showy decoration on clothes, the other describes showy movement, and they both mean 'dramatic and attention-grabbing!'
Flounce (exaggerated movement) historically coded feminine via 18th-19th century aesthetics that infantilized women's bodies. Fashion and mannerism became gendered markers of frivolity.
Use to describe movement patterns neutrally—anyone can flounce—without gendered assumptions about what it implies about character or seriousness.
["stride","move expressively","pivot"]
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