flit

C2 Topic:Space, Position & Direction

US /flɪt/ See IPA manual

Minimal pairs

Sounds like frit /l/ vs /ɹ/

Freq #38313

Meanings

1

verb
To move quickly and lightly from one place to another.

A butterfly flitted from flower to flower in the garden.
2

verb
To pass briefly through the mind or across something.

A worried thought flitted across her face.

Thesaurus

Word family

Forms flitsflittedflitting

Related forms dart dash flick flicker flirt lunge

From Middle English flitten, flytten, from Old Norse flytja (“to move”), from Proto-Germanic *flutjaną, from Proto-Indo-European *plewd- (“to flow; run”). Cognate Icelandic flytja, Swedish flytta, Danish flytte, Norwegian flytte, Faroese flyta. Compare also Saterland Frisian flitskje (“to rush; run quickly”).

flitten Middle English flytja Old Norse *flutjaną Proto-Germanic *plewd- Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Space, Position & Direction Verbs of Movement

External links

# flit

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** /flɪt/
**Frequency rank:** 38313

## Meanings
1. To move quickly and lightly from one place to another.
2. To pass briefly through the mind or across something.

## Examples
- A butterfly flitted from flower to flower in the garden.
- A worried thought flitted across her face.

## Related Forms
- dart
- dash
- flick
- flicker
- flirt
- lunge

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: flitten
- Root: flytja
- Root: *flutjaną
- Root: *plewd-

## Etymology
From Middle English flitten, flytten, from Old Norse flytja (“to move”), from Proto-Germanic *flutjaną, from Proto-Indo-European *plewd- (“to flow; run”). Cognate Icelandic flytja, Swedish flytta, Danish flytte, Norwegian flytte, Faroese flyta. Compare also Saterland Frisian flitskje (“to rush; run quickly”).

## AI Etymology
Flit is from Middle English flitten, flytten, from Old Norse flytja (“to move”), from Proto-Germanic *flutjaną, from Proto-Indo-European *plewd- (“to flow; run”). Cognate Icelandic flytja, Swedish flytta, Danish flytte, Norwegian flytte, Faroese flyta. Compare also Saterland Frisian flitskje (“to rush; run quickly”). Important recorded forms include flitten (Middle English), flytja (Old Norse), *flutjaną (Proto-Germanic), and *plewd- (Proto-Indo-European). Current senses include to move quickly and lightly from one place to another and to pass briefly through the mind or across something. The wider family includes related words such as dart, dash, flick, and flicker.

## Topics
- Space, Position & Direction
- Verbs of Movement

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flit

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