flit

English

Etymology

From Old Norse flytja (“to move”). Cognate with Swedish: flytta, Danish/Norwegian: flytte, Faroese: flyta.

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -ɪt

Wikipedia

Noun

flit (plural flits)

1. A fluttering or darting movement.
2. (physics) A particular, unexpected, short lived change of state.

   My computer just had a flit.

3. (slang) A homosexual.

Verb

flit (third-person singular simple present flits, present participle flitting, simple past and past participle flitted)

1. To move about rapidly and nimbly.
   • 1912: Edgar Rice Burroughs, Tarzan of the Apes, Chapter 6

     There were many apes with faces similar to his own, and further over in the book he found, under "M," some little monkeys such as he saw daily flitting through the trees of his primeval forest. But nowhere was pictured any of his own people; in all the book was none that resembled Kerchak, or Tublat, or Kala.

2. To move quickly from one location to another.
3. (physics) To unpredictably change state for short periods of time.

   My blender flits because the power cord is damaged.

4. (informal) To move house (especially a sudden move to avoid debts).

Related terms

• dart
• dash
• flirt
• lunge

Translations

to move about rapidly and nimbly

Finnish: säntäillä (fi)

to move quickly from one location to another

Finnish: sännätä (fi)

French: virevolter (fr)

to unpredictably change state for short periods

Finnish: pätkiä (fi)

Adjective

flit (comparative more flit, superlative most flit)

1. (poetic, obsolete) Fast, nimble.
   • 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, II.iv:

     And in his hand two darts exceeding flit, / And deadly sharpe he held [...].

Anagrams

• lift

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Scots

Verb

tae flit (third-person singular simple present flits, present participle flittin, simple past flittit, past participle flittit)

1. to move house
2. to flit

Derived terms

• munelicht flittin