c. 1600, "talkative, nimble in talk;" 1670s, "displaying unbecoming levity," apparently an extended form of flip (v.). The ending is perhaps modeled on other adjectives in -ant or a relic of the Middle English present participle ending -inde. Shortened form flip is attested from 1847. Related: Flippantly.
-cy
abstract noun suffix of quality or rank, from Latin -cia, -tia, from Greek -kia, -tia, from abstract ending -ia (see -ia) + stem ending -c- or -t-. The native correspondents are -ship, -hood.