Etymology Explorer › Middle English

Where does “flitten” come from?

flitten (Middle English) comes from Old Norse flytja, from Proto-Germanic flutjaną, from Proto-Indo-European plewd-, from Proto-Indo-European plew- — to fly, flow, run.

Ancestry of “flitten”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Norseflytjato move
2Proto-Germanicflutjanąto move, flutter
3Proto-Indo-Europeanplewd-to fly, flow, run
4Proto-Indo-Europeanplew-to fly, flow, run

Words derived from “flitten”

  • flitting
  • flit
  • flitter
  • flittermouse
  • flittingly
  • flitty
  • flittery
  • flittiness
  • flickermouse
  • flitsome
  • flytteren
Every word from Proto-Indo-European plew- →