Related Searches
on Ask.com
Browse Nearby Entries
flit
6 dictionary results for: flit
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
flit 
[flit] Pronunciation Key verb, flit·ted, flit·ting, noun
[flit] Pronunciation Key verb, flit·ted, flit·ting, noun –verb (used without object)
–verb (used with object)
–noun
| 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.
|
| 5. | Chiefly Scot. to remove; transfer; oust or dispossess. |
| 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. |
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
| flit
(flĭt) Pronunciation Key
intr.v. flit·ted, flit·ting, flits
n.
[Middle English flitten, from Old Norse flytja, to carry about, convey; see pleu- in Indo-European roots.] flit'ter n. |
(Download Now or Buy the Book)
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
flit
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
WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This
| flit | |
noun | |
| 1. | a sudden quick movement |
| 2. | a secret move (to avoid paying debts); "they did a moonlight flit" |
verb | |
| 1. | move along rapidly and lightly; skim or dart; "The hummingbird flitted among the branches" |
WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
Flit
Flit\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Flitted; p. pr. & vb. n. Flitting.] [OE. flitten, flutten, to carry away; cf. Icel. flytja, Sw. flytta, Dan. flytte. [root]84. Cf. Fleet, v. i.]1. To move with celerity through the air; to fly away with a rapid motion; to dart along; to fleet; as, a bird flits away; a cloud flits along. A shadow flits before me. --Tennyson. 2. To flutter; to rove on the wing. --Dryden. 3. To pass rapidly, as a light substance, from one place to another; to remove; to migrate. It became a received opinion, that the souls of men, departing this life, did flit out of one body into some other. --Hooker. 4. To remove from one place or habitation to another. [Scot. & Prov. Eng.] --Wright. Jamieson. 5. To be unstable; to be easily or often moved. And the free soul to flitting air resigned. --Dryden.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
Flit
Flit\, a. Nimble; quick; swift. [Obs.] See Fleet.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
Share This:
Copyright © 2008, Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.