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flit

 - 3 dictionary results

flit

  [flit] verb, flit⋅ted, flit⋅ting, noun
Use flit in a Sentence
–verb (used without object)
1. to move lightly and swiftly; fly, dart, or skim along: bees flitting from flower to flower.
2. to flutter, as a bird.
3. to pass quickly, as time: hours flitting by.
4. Chiefly Scot. and North England.
a. to depart or die.
b. to change one's residence.
–verb (used with object)
5. Chiefly Scot. to remove; transfer; oust or dispossess.
–noun
6. a light, swift movement; flutter.
7. Scot. and North England. a change of residence; instance of moving to a new address.
8. Slang: Disparaging and Offensive. a male homosexual.
Origin:
1150–1200; ME flitten < ON flytja to carry, convey, Sw flytta. See fleet 2

Related forms:
flit⋅ting⋅ly, adverb

Synonyms:
1. See fly 1 .
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To flit
flit   (flĭt)   
intr.v.   flit·ted, flit·ting, flits

  1. To move about rapidly and nimbly.

  2. To move quickly from one condition or location to another.

n.  

  1. A fluttering or darting movement.

  2. Informal An empty-headed, silly, often erratic person.


[Middle English flitten, from Old Norse flytja, to carry about, convey; see pleu- in Indo-European roots.]
flit'ter n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

flit 
c.1200, flutten "convey, move, take," perhaps from O.N. flytja "cause to fit," from P.Gmc. *flotojan (see float). First record of flitter, with frequentative suffix, is from 1542. Flitter-mouse (1547) is occasionally used in Eng., in imitation of Ger. fledermaus "bat," from O.H.G. fledaron "to flutter."
"Theire desire ... is to goe to theire newe masters eyther on a Tewsday, or on a Thursday; for ... they say Munday flitte, Neaver sitte." [1641]
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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