flit

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a secret move, to avoid paying debts

   They did a moonlight flit to another country.

2. 2
   noun

   A sudden departure from a property.

   I did a flit, as the landlord was due to arrive to collect the rent.

3. 3
   noun

   A particular, unexpected, short lived change of state.

   My computer just had a flit.

4. 4
   noun

   A homosexual.

   The other end of the bar was full of flits. They weren't too flitty-looking—I mean they didn't have their hair too long or anything—but you could tell they were flits anyway.

5. 5
   verb

   To move about rapidly and nimbly.

   A shadow flits before me, / Not thou, but like to thee; […]

6. 6
   verb

   To move quickly from one location to another.

   By their means it became a received opinion, that the souls of men departing this life, do flit out of one body into some other.

7. 7
   verb

   To unpredictably change state for short periods of time.

   My blender flits because the power cord is damaged.

8. 8
   verb

   To move house (sometimes a sudden move to avoid debts).

   After this manner did the late Warden of Barchester Hospital accomplish his flitting, and change his residence.

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”).