▪ I. flit, n.1
(flɪt)
[f. next vb.]
The action of flitting. a. A removal; spec. do a flit, to decamp. b. A light movement, as of a bird's wing; a flutter; a light touch.
| a. 1835 N. P. Willis in L'Estrange Friendships Miss Mitford (1882) I. 289 A flit from London and a visit to Reading. 1855 Robinson Whitby Gloss. s.v. Flit, ‘A moonlight flit’, a decampment by night with the furniture, to cheat the landlord. 1952 M. Tripp Faith is Windsock vii. 108 They'll say I got windy and did a flit. 1964 R. Braddon Year Angry Rabbit (1967) ii. 16 A fourth [daughter]..had cunningly got herself pregnant by the one pathologist in the team who was too honourable to do a flit. 1970 Sunday Truth (Brisbane) 27 Dec. 16/3 They live on the generosity of the small country storekeeper, then do a flit. |
| b. 1873 Miss Thackeray Old Kensington xii. 99 There was a vague flit and consternation in the darkness at the farther end of the room. 1877 Blackmore Erema III. liv. 242 A flit of fancy touched me. 1880 ― Mary Anerley xxvi. Kneading it firmly with some rapid flits of thumb. |
c. (See quots. 1942.) Also attrib. or as adj. U.S. slang.
| 1942 Berrey & Van den Bark Amer. Thes. Slang §405.2 Effeminate man,..Fauntleroy, flit, fuddyduddy. Ibid. §508.4 Male homosexual,..flit, four-letter man, fruit, fruiter. 1951 J. D. Salinger Catcher in Rye xix. 170 Sometimes it was hard to believe, the people he said were flits and lesbians. 1964 E. Lacy Pity Honest ii. 30 ‘Could he have been on the flit side?’ ‘Doubt that,..not that I'm any authority on queers.’ |
▪ II. † flit, a. poet. Obs.
Also flitt.
[var. of fleet a., the form being influenced by flit v. Cf. also flight a.]
a. Swift, nimble, quickly-moving. b. Fleeting, shifting; light, airy, unsubstantial.
| a. 1590 Spenser F.Q. ii. iv. 38 And in his hand two dartes exceeding flit, And deadly sharp, he held. Ibid. iii. xi. 39 Now, like a stag; now, like a faulcon flit. 1600 Fairfax Tasso xiv. lxxii. 265 That flit birde that Ioues hot weapon beares. |
| b. 1590 Spenser F.Q. iii. x. 57 On the rockes he fell so flit and light, That he thereby receiv'd no hurt at all. Ibid. iii. i. 56 Therewith a while she her flit fancy fedd. 1633 P. Fletcher Purple Isl. vii. vii, Life it self's as flit as is the aire we breathe. |
▪ III. flit, v.
(flɪt)
Forms: 3–4 flitten, Orm. flittenn, 3 flut(t)en, 3–6 flytt(e, 4–6 flyt(e, 4–9 flitt(e, (6 fliet), 4– flit. pa. tense 3 flutte, 4 flitt, 5 flette, flyt, 6 flit. pa. pple. 4 yflit, iflut, 7 flit,
[ME. flitten, flutten, a. ON. flytja (Sw. flytta, Da. flytte), f. *flut- weak grade of the root of flióta: see fleet v.1]
1. trans. To remove, transport, or take away to another place; to transfer from one position to another; to remove (a person) from his house or habitation. Now chiefly Sc. or dial.
| c 1200 Ormin 15648 To flittenn menn till heffness ærd Ut off þe defless walde. c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 1522 Ðat folk..deden him flitten hise ostel. c 1374 Chaucer Troylus v. 1544 As regnes shal ben flitted Fro folk to folk. c 1375 Lay Folks Mass Bk. (MS. B.) 155 Þen þo prest flyttes his boke north to þat oþer auter noke. c 1425 Wyntoun Cron. vii. v. 181 A Towne Wes flyttyd out of þat ilke plas Quhare it fowndyt and byggyt was. c 1450 St. Cuthbert (Surtees) 3442 In to þat my body flitt. 1558 in Balfour Practicks (1754) 106 Scho may not flit nor remove the tenentis, occupiaris of the samin. 1572 Sempill Ball xxix. (1872) 152 That sum of thame mon flit thair kist. c 1640 J. Smyth Lives Berkeleys (1883) I. 155 This lord..exchanged, removed, and flitted part of his Cattle..from one manor to another. 1782 Sir J. Sinclair Observ. Scot. Dial. 84 To Flit, to remove any thing in general, particularly furniture. 1807 Overseer's Acct. in Rutland Gloss. (1891) s.v., For fliting sarah Hails 1s. 6d. 1861 G. W. Dasent Burnt Njal II. 40 They flitted home their goods and laid up the ship. 1863 Baring Gould Iceland 257 One fine afternoon he flitted his guest out to the island. |
b. spec. To shift (a tethered animal, occas. the tether) from one spot to another, when it has eaten all the grass within reach; hence, to tether. Also, to shift the position of (a sheep-fold).
| 1523 Fitzherb. Husb. §18 To flyte it [the shepefolde] euery mornynge or nyght. Ibid. §148 Flytte hym [thy horse] as oft as thou wylt. 1786 Burns Auld Farmer's New-Year Salut. xviii, Wi' tentie care I'll flit thy tether, To some hain'd rig. 1816 Sir A. Boswell Skeldon Haughs 44 A Sow upon your land I'll tether..But deil a man o' Kyle shall flit her. 1881 Leicester Gloss. s.v., The goot (goat) were flitted to the middle cloo'es-poost. |
† c. Of a boat, etc.: To serve to transport. Obs.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 25709 (Cott.) Penance is þat oþer bord, þat fletand flittes man ouer ford..it schal him hauen of merci win. 1375 Barbour Bruce iii. 420 It [the bate] sa litill wes, that It Mycht our the wattir bot thresum flyt. |
d. Naut. (See quots., and fleet v.1 12.)
| 1750 T. R. Blanckley Naval Expos., Flitting, altering or removing a dead Eye in the Low or Top-mast Shrouds and Backstays, either to lengthen or shorten them, is called Flitting. 1793 Smeaton Edystone L. §143 In this way we proceeded flitting the tackle and lowering till our anchor was grounded. Ibid. 158 Having so many times to stop, overhawl, and flit..the work could not go on very speedily. |
† 2. To remove, get rid of (a thing); to drive away (an insect). Obs.
| c 1350 Will. Palerne 623 Fele times haue ich fonded to flitte it fro þouȝt. c 1400 Rom. Rose 1812 So sore it stikid whan I was hit, That by no craft I might it flit. 1596 Gosson Pleas. Quips 110 Fannes..To flit away the flisking flies. |
† 3. To change the condition or direction of; to alter, cause to deviate or waver; to pervert (law). Obs.
| c 1200 Ormin 13414 Ȝe sen þatt icc am flittedd nu Fra dæþ to lif onn erþe. c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints, Lucia 279 Þar-with for to flit hyre thocht. 1393 Gower Conf. III. 183 If he wolde flitte The lawe for the covetise. 14.. Lydg. Temple of Glas 1248 Late not ȝoure corage ne ȝoure force fail, Ne non assautes ȝov flitten or remeve. |
† 4. refl. To betake oneself, go, direct one's course. Obs.
| c 1200 Ormin 15853 Uss birrþ aȝȝ Uss flittenn towarrd Criste. Ibid. 18038 Swa þatt teȝȝ..Wel sholldenn muȝhenn flitten hemm & ferrsenn fra þe defell. 13.. in Horstmann Altengl. Leg. II. 97 Bot þou flit þe ferr, For his sake þou sal far (þe) werr. |
5. intr. To shift one's position, either in a material or immaterial sense; to be gone, depart, pass away, remove. Also with away, or const. from, † of, out of, to.
| c 1200 Ormin 12765 O þatt oþerr daȝȝ Toc Jesu Crist to flittenn Inntill þe land off Galile. a 1240 Sawles Warde in Cott. Hom. 251 Ferliche ha flutteð from þe heate in to þe chele. a 1300 Cursor M. 12487 (Cott.) Þan flitted þai vntil a tun Þat cleped was chaphar-naum. 1340 Hampole Pr. Consc. 3762 When a man fra þis world sal flitte. c 1400 Rom. Rose 5359 Whan it [Richesse] failith, he [Love] wol flit. 1471 Ripley Comp. Alch. iv. vii. in Ashm. (1652) 145 Out of thy mynde let not thys lesson flyt. 1529 More Comf. agst. Trib. i. Wks. 1147/2 But yf our self flyt from hym. 1576 Gosson Speculum Hum. in Sch. Abuse (Arb.) 76 His lyfe shall flit, when most he trustes the same. 1619 J. Welsh in Wodr. Soc. Misc. 562 To flit owt of this lyfe. 1642 H. More Song of Soul iii. ii. xliii, Nor is his masters knowledge from him flit Into his scholars head. 1695 Woodward Nat. Hist. Earth i. (1723) 38 The Sea frequently flitted and changed its place. 1790 Burns Tam o' Shanter vii, Like the Borealis race, That flit ere you can point their place. 1858 Froude Hist. Eng. III. xiii. 100 Towards the fall of the summer, clergy from the southern counties had been flitting northward. 1868 Hawthorne Amer. Note-bks. (1879) II. 65 Our spirits must have flitted away unconsciously. |
† b. To depart, deviate, swerve from a custom, justice, law, etc. Obs.
| c 1200 Ormin 13430 Ȝuw iss nu baþe god & ned..To flittenn o þiss oþerr daȝȝ Fra deofless & fra sinness. a 1420 Hoccleve De Reg. Princ. 2704 To suche a jugge with⁓drawe the hope Of money, and he fro justice flittethe. c 1450 St. Cuthbert (Surtees) 7903 Fra alde custome þai walde noȝt flytt. 1571 Campion Hist. Irel. xi. xi. (1633) 72 Vivian the legate..doth..excommunicate all those that flitte from the obeysance of the Kings of England. |
† c. Of a horseman: To lose his seat and fall to the ground. Obs.
| 1430 Lydg. Chron. Troy i. ix, From his sadell..he made him flytte Downe to the ground. 1458 in Turner Dom. Archit. III. 41 Som oute of her sadels flette to the grounde. a 1605 Montgomerie Misc. Poems xli. 51 Some perforce flittis On grund. |
† d. quasi-trans. To migrate from (a place); to change (places); to shift (one's camp, etc.).
| c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. Wace (Rolls) 13654 Wyþ force he dide hem flitte þet stede. 1570 Buchanan Chamæleon Wks. (1892) 52 The moist part flittit camp and went to Lynlythquow. 1674 N. Fairfax Bulk & Selv. 139 Spirits change their Beings..far otherwise than bodies do when they flit places. 1715 Roxb. Ball. VI. 620 While I have might, I will you fight, from Stirling flit your Den, Sir. |
6. To remove from one habitation to another, change one's residence, ‘move’. Chiefly north. or Sc. (In proverbial expressions often opposed to sit.)
| 1504 Plumpton Corr. 191, I will flitt at this next Mighelmas. a 1553 Udall Royster D. ii. iii. (Arb.) 36 Fast for to sitte and not oft to flitte. 1641 Best Farm. Bks. (Surtees) 135 Theire desire..is to goe to theire newe masters eyther on a Tewsday, or on a Thursday; for..they say Munday flitte, Neaver sitte. 1721 Kelly Scot. Prov. 105 Fools are fain of flitting, and wise Men of sitting. 1871 C. Gibbon For Lack of Gold v, When you need to flit, there's a house of mine standing empty that you can take at any time. |
† 7. To change from one state, condition, or direction to another; to alter, shift about, give way.
| c 1386 Chaucer Pars. T. ¶295 God..that may not chaunge and flitte. c 1430 How Wise Man tauȝt Son 116 in Babees Bk. (1868) 51 Neiþer hasti for to chaunge ne flitte. 1500–20 Dunbar Poems lxvi. 95 Of this fals failȝeand warld I tyre, That ever more flytis lyk ane phane. 1590 Spenser F.Q. i. iv. 5 On a sandie hill, that still did flitt And fall away, it [the Pallace] mounted was full hie. a 1605 Montgomerie Misc. Poems xxxi. 58 If ȝe be constant, I sall neuer change; If ȝe be fickle, I am forc't to flitt. 1725 Ramsay Gent. Sheph. ii. iv. (1875) 33 Your thoughts may flit, and I may thole the wrang. 1816 Coleridge Statesm. Man. App. 35 The intellectual eyes of the Many flit, and are incapable of looking fixedly toward the God-like. |
b. Of a flame: To die down.
| 1839 Marryat Phant. Ship xi, Like a candle burnt down to the socket, flitting and flaring alternately. 1887 Swinburne Locrine i. i. 261 Thy smile is as a flame that plays and flits. |
8. To move along, pass, proceed; to pass lightly or softly and (usually) with rapidity or suddenness. Often with adverbs, as about, away, by, to and fro, etc. Said both of material and immaterial things.
| c 1430 Lydg. Bochas ii. vi. (1554) 42 b, Or that I any farther flitte..To diuines this matter I committe. c 1440 York Myst. xv. 34 Flitte faste ouere thees felles. 1613 Purchas Pilgrimage iv. viii. (1614) 386 Forced to flee to the mountaines where he liued three months..flitting vp and downe with ten or twelue followers. 1618 Bolton Florus Pref., The varietie of matter makes the minde abruptly flit from one thing to another. 1642 H. More Song of Soul i. ii. v, Sith my wandring Bark so far is gone, And flitten forth upon the Ocean main. 1781 Cowper Retirem. 192 The clouds that flit, or slowly float away. 1810 Scott Lady of L. iii. xi, When flits this Cross from man to man. 1838 Dickens Nich. Nick. xvi, Postmen..flit to and fro. 1851 Helps Comp. Solit. xiii. (1874) 246, I seemed to see the various races who had occupied the spot flit by. 1864 Tennyson Aylmer's F. 202 Unawares they flitted off, Busying them⁓selves about the flowerage. |
b. esp. Of a bird or other winged creature: To fly lightly and swiftly; also, to make short and swift flights, to flutter.
| 1535 Coverdale 2 Esdras v. 6 And the foules shal flyt, and the Sodomitysh see shall cast out his fish. 1556 J. Heywood Spider & F. liv. 34 Downe the flie againe flitth. 1590 Spenser F.Q. iii. xi. 42 Faire Pegasus that flitteth in the ayre. 1700 Dryden Fables, Meleager & Atalanta 401 With wings endu'd..and sent to flit in air. 1817 Campbell Poems, Reullura 17 The bat flits to and fro. 1864 Tennyson En. Ard. 269 Like the caged bird escaping suddenly, The little innocent soul flitted away. |
c. Of time: To pass away.
| 1573 Baret Alv. F 706 Time flitted away quickly. 1583 Stanyhurst Aeneis i. (Arb.) 26 Hee shal bee the regent, vntil yeers thirtye be flitted. 1868 Morris Earthly Par. I. 72 So smoothly o'er our heads the days did flit. |
† 9. To sustain existence, to live by (i.e. upon). Obs.
[Cf. ON. flytja to provide with necessaries (a fig. application of the original sense ‘to ferry, help forward’), whence refl. flytjask to maintain oneself.]
| a 1225 Ancr. R. 202 Al so ȝisceð a ȝissare þet moni þusunt muhten bi flutten [printed biflutten]. Ibid. 428 Non ancre seruant ne ouhte..uorto asken i-sette huire, bute mete & cloð þet heo mei vlutten bi. |
Hence † flit, ˈflitted, † ˈflitten ppl. a., that has gone away, departed.
| 1590 Spenser F.Q. i. vii. 21 So hardly he the flitted life does win Unto her native prison to retourne. 1642 H. More Song of Soul ii. ii. ii. xxxviii, The..flitten or shrunk spright. Ibid. ii. iii. i. xxix, All flit souls be not in the same taking. |
▪ IV. flit
var. of fleet v.2, to skim.