flipper

Estimated CEFR level: C2 — Proficiency

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

noun a shoe for swimming; the paddle-like front is an aid in swimming (especially underwater)
noun the flat broad limb of aquatic animals specialized for swimming

From flip + -er. Compare Saterland Frisian Flappert (“flipper, wing”).

Their front flippers are covered with hair. — The Burgess Animal Book for Children, Thornton W. (Thornton Waldo) Burgess
Annatock buried the harpoon deep under its left flipper. — Story Hour Readings: Seventh Year, E. C. (Ernest Clark) Hartwell
“So that you may on higher flippers stay,” to slippers. — The Countess of Pembroke's Arcadia, Philip Sidney

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