flaps

Everyday

1. Flaps is the form of «flap» used with he, she or it: «The bird flaps its wings.» tree →
2. Flaps is the plural of the noun «flap»: flat pieces fixed on one side that cover openings, or movable parts on an aeroplane wing. tree →

In the lessons

In science, a bird flaps its wings; an aeroplane lowers its flaps to slow down and land. In books, lift-the-flap pages hide pictures. Phrases: «flaps its wings», «the wing flaps», «pocket flaps».

Examples

• The duck flaps its wings in the water. tree →
• The plane's flaps come down before it lands. tree →
• Lift the flaps to find the hidden animals. tree →
• My jacket has flaps over the pockets. tree →
• The washing flaps on the line. tree →
• A hummingbird flaps its wings very fast. tree →
• The pilot checked the flaps before take-off. tree →
• On the following morning at daybreak, peeped the people out of half-open door-flaps. tree →

Note

See «flap» for the meanings. Third person: he/she/it flaps; plural noun: one flap, two flaps.

Early Modern English

Meaning

loose hanging coverings over an opening, such as the door of a tent or hut. tree →

Then and now

Today a flap is a loose hanging part of something, such as an envelope or a wing; here it means the hanging cover over a doorway, a sense now rare.

Examples

• On the following morning at daybreak, peeped the people out of half-open door-flaps. (Old Indian Legends) tree →
• [Footnote 3: 'Pinners' were coifs with two long side-flaps pinned on. 'Double-pinners'--with two side-flaps on each side--accurately translates the French cornettes à deux rangs.] (The Fairy Tales of Charles Perrault) tree →
• Very early the oval-shaped door-flaps were thrust aside and many brown faces peered out of the wigwams toward the top of the highest bluff. (Old Indian Legends) tree →

Note

Today: curtains or flaps.