Where does “moonlight flit” come from?

moonlight flit (English) comes from English moonlight, from Middle English moonelight, from Middle English Mone, from Old English mān, from Sanskrit महादेव, from Sanskrit महा, from Proto-Indo-Aryan maźʰā́, from Proto-Indo-Iranian maȷ́ʰā́ — big, great.

moonlight flit (English): An act of secretly leaving premises without paying the rent, supposedly at night by the light of the Moon; hence, any act of escaping at night

Definitions

  1. An act of secretly leaving premises without paying the rent, supposedly at night by the light of the Moon; hence, any act of escaping at night

Ancestry of “moonlight flit”, step by step

moonlight flit traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English moonlight

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishmoonlightThe light reflected from the Moon; To work on the...
2Middle Englishmoonelightmoonlight
3Middle EnglishMoneA lamentation; a sorrowful moan or expression
4Old Englishmānbad, criminal, false; shameful act; crime;...
5Sanskritमहादेवthe "great God"
6Sanskritमहाcombining form of महत्; buffalo; great, large,...
7Proto-Indo-Aryanmaźʰā́
8Proto-Indo-Iranianmaȷ́ʰā́big, great
9Proto-Indo-Europeanméǵh₂sbig, great

via English flit

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishflitA fluttering or darting movement; A particular,...
2Middle Englishflitten
3Old Norseflytjato move
4Proto-Germanicflutjanąto move, flutter
5Proto-Indo-Europeanplewd-to fly, flow, run
6Proto-Indo-Europeanplew-to fly, flow, run
Every word from Proto-Indo-European méǵh₂s