To move with a quick, darting motion; to move rapidly and restlessly.
Possibly from Old Norse origin, related to 'frisk' (to move about briskly). The 'fl-' onset suggests motion, similar to 'flit' and 'flip'.
English has a whole cluster of 'fl-' words describing fast, light movement—'flit,' 'flip,' 'flick'—and many linguists think we inherited this pattern from Old Norse speakers who settled in England and brought their motion-word vocabulary with them.
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