flitter

¹ American  

[flit-er] / ˈflɪt ər /

verb (used with or without object)

1. to flutter.

---

flitter ² American  

[flit-er] / ˈflɪt ər /

noun

1. a person or thing that flits.

---

flitter ³ American  

[flit-er] / ˈflɪt ər /

noun

1. fine metallic fragments, especially as used for ornamentation.

---

flitter ⁴ American  

[flit-er] / ˈflɪt ər /

noun

Chiefly South Midland and Southern U.S.

1. a fritter or pancake.

---

flitter British  

/ ˈflɪtə /

verb

1. a less common word for flutter

---

Etymology

Origin of flitter¹

First recorded in 1535–45; flit + -er ⁶

Origin of flitter²

First recorded in 1535–45; flit + -er ¹

Origin of flitter³

First recorded in 1840–50; from German; literally, “tinsel, spangle”

Origin of flitter⁴

Apparently by dissimilation from fritter ²

Example Sentences

Emily Flitter writes about finance and how it impacts society.

From New York Times • Jan. 12, 2024

Banking groups are also adding legal threats to their usual lobbying strategies, writes the Times’s Emily Flitter.

From New York Times • Nov. 3, 2023

James Crown, the billionaire financier who was a longtime board member of JPMorgan Chase and General Dynamics, died on Sunday, The Times’s Emily Flitter writes for DealBook.

From New York Times • Jun. 27, 2023

Emily Flitter, who writes about banking for The Times, got a tip in 2018 that a large Wall Street firm had fired one of its Black employees without cause.

From New York Times • Nov. 4, 2022

"If you please," replied Peter politely and happily, for he saw that Grandfather Frog was feeling good-natured, "why is it that Flitter the Bat flies only at night?"

From Mother West Wind 'Why' Stories by Burgess, Thornton W. (Thornton Waldo)