See Also: flit(1)(dictionary)
flit(2)(dictionary)
flit(dictionary)
flit(dictionary)

flit (iou)



flit verb. Infl. -tt-. ME.
[Old Norse flytja from weak grade of base of fljota: see FLEET verb1.]
verb trans. Remove to another place. Now chiefly Scot. & north. ME.
G. W. Dasent They flitted home their goods and laid up the ship.
b. Get rid of, drive away. LME-L16.
c. Shift (a tethered animal) to fresh grazing. E16.
verb trans. Change the condition or direction of. Only in ME.
verb intrans. Depart, migrate; move or pass away. Also foll. by away, from, to. ME.
R. Burns Like the Borealis race, That flit ere you can point their place. N. Hawthorne Our spirits must have flitted away unconsciously.
b. Of time: pass away. L16.
verb intrans.
a. Change in state, condition, or direction; alter, shift about. LME-E19.
b. Of a flame: flicker, die down. M19.
verb intrans. Pass lightly, softly, or rapidly. Freq. with about, by, off, to and fro, etc. LME.
Tennyson Unawares they flitted off, Busying themselves about the flowerage. W. H. Auden A shadow-train flitted foreshortened through fields. A. Ayckbourn Flitting from woman to woman as the mood takes you.
b. Of a bird, bat, or other flying thing or creature: fly lightly and swiftly, make short flights. M16.
T. Campbell The bat flits to and fro. L. M. Montgomery Fireflies were flitting over in Lovers' Lane. B. England The helicopter flitted about with such dainty ease.
verb intrans. Move house; change one's abode, esp. secretly (cf. FLIT noun 1). Chiefly Scot. & north. E16.
A. Guinness My mother and I flitted, leaving behind..a wake of unpaid bills.