fillip
noun

- something which acts as a stimulus or boost to an activity

The Oxford Dictionary

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WORD ORIGIN

Fillip, which is pronounced just like the male name Phillip, is from the Middle English filippen (to make a sound with one's forefinger and thumb, to snap). It may be an alteration of the Middle English flappen (to hit, slap, clap, applaud) or it may simply be imitative of the sound.

Apart from a snap or light blow made by pressing the fingertip against the thumb, in the 16th century fillip was used in the sense of something trivial or unimportant. For instance, in explaining his life philosophy Lord Byron once said, "Eat, drink, and love; the rest’s not worth a fillip."

Interestingly, this meaning disappeared, to be replaced by the modern sense of something that activates or stimulates. This is likely derived from the verb form of fillip, meaning to strike or propel rapidly.

As you may have guessed by now, the verb fillip eventually shortened to "flip" — a very common verb that means to move, push, or throw (something) with a sudden quick movement (Would you flip me a pen or a pencil?) or to turn over or cause to turn over with a sudden quick movement (Let's flip coins to see who goes first).

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FLIPPING IDIOMS

- flip over = begeistert sein von = (The executive team flipped over the new product design.)

- on the flip side = auf der anderen Seite (On the flip side, the risky investment could also result in high returns.)

- flip one's lid (top, wig) = ausflippen, durchdrehen, die Beherrschung verlieren (The manager flipped his lid when he saw the poor sales figures.)

- flipping heck! = verdammt nochmal! (Flipping heck! I can't believe we didn’t have a backup and lost the data.)

- flip through something = etwas durchblättern (She flipped through the report but could not find the data she needed.)

- flip over backwards = sich sehr anstrengen (The startup flipped over backwards (to meet their investors’ demands.)

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