In the 14th century, if someone
told you that you had flair (or flayre as it was then commonly spelled), you
might very well take offense. This is because in Middle English flayre meant
"an odor." The word is derived from the Old French verb flairier
("to give off an odor"), which came, in turn, from Late Latin
flagrare, itself an alteration of fragrare. (The English words fragrant and
fragrance also derive from fragrare.) The "odor" sense of flair fell
out of use, but in the 19th century, English speakers once again borrowed flair
from the French—this time (influenced by the Modern French use of the word for
the sense of smell) to indicate a discriminating sense or instinctive
discernment.
