flabby

Definition

Yielding to the touch, and easily moved or shaken; hanging loose by its own weight; lacking firmness; flaccid.

Etymology

From a variant of flappy, from flap (“to hang loose”). Compare English dialectal flapsy (“flabby”), Middle Dutch flabbe (“a slap in the face; a fan-blade; a hair ribbon; a wagging tongue”), Middle Low German flabbe (“a gaping mouth; a chatterbox”), Danish flab (“the jaw; cheeks; a malapert”), Swedish flabb, fläff (“the hanging underlip of an animal; guffaw; driveller”), German Flabbe (“a gob; muzzle”).

Example Sentences

• "My attention was accidentally drawn to this aid, some five or six years ago, while attending a lady (multipara) in her confinement, who suffered from umbilical hernia, with large flabby abdomen."
• "A neglected gap was all the gate it had, and the first glance at the place was enough to let you see the flabby devil was running that show."
• "The strings of some violins when up to pitch are loose and flabby; some are very taut and hard."