† flickern.1
Obsolete. rare.
ΘΚΠ
society > faith > church government > member of the clergy > vicar > [noun]
vicary1303
vicarc1325
substitute1555
ficker1589
flicker1598
altarist1753
1598 J. Florio Worlde of Wordes Guanciatore,..a pilferer, a flicker.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1897; most recently modified version published online September 2021).
flickern.2
slang.
A drinking-glass.
ΚΠ
1676 E. Coles Eng. Dict. Flicker, a glass.
1699 B. E. New Dict. Canting Crew
?1750 in Apol. Life Mr. Bampfylde-Moore Carew (ed. 2) 232.
1823 P. Egan Grose's Classical Dict. Vulgar Tongue (rev. ed.)
Derivatives
Categories »
ˈflicker v. to drink (Farmer).
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1897; most recently modified version published online June 2019).
flickern.3
/ˈflɪkə/, U.S. /ˈflɪkər/ 1. An act of flickering, a flickering movement.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in specific manner > irregular movement or agitation > [noun] > fluttering or flickering > a fluttering or flickering movement
flutter1641
waver1826
flicker1857
flit1873
flitter1892
1857 T. Hughes Tom Brown's School Days ii. iv. 301 [The bird would] with an impudent flicker of his tail dart into the depths of the quickset.
1861 G. Wilson & A. Geikie Mem. E. Forbes i. 35 The flicker of the leaves whose shadows mottle their waters.
2. figurative.1856 E. K. Kane Arctic Explor. I. v. 53 This little flicker of enthusiasm.1864 T. Carlyle Hist. Friedrich II of Prussia IV. xvii. vii. 597 His Enterprise was a final flicker of false hope.1876 H. Maudsley Physiol. of Mind i. 25 The last flicker of departing life.
a. A wavering unsteady light or flame.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > light > light emitted in particular manner > [noun] > gleam, glimmer, or flicker
blenka1400
blushc1400
gleamc1440
glance?a1513
glinta1542
glish1570
glimpse1603
glimmera1616
glimble1658
blink1717
glent1728
shimmer1821
glisk1824
flicker1849
glist1864
styme1888
the world > relative properties > quantity > smallness of quantity, amount, or degree > [noun] > a small quantity or amount > a very small amount > specifically of something immaterial
sparkc888
shredc1400
drop1576
scrap1607
particle1620
atom1626
morsel1779
thimbleful1789
glimmer1837
flicker1849
1849 A. R. Smith Pottleton Legacy vii. 36 After some delay, there was a flicker through the fanlight of the street door.
1856 E. K. Kane Arctic Explor. I. xxviii. 371 Writing by this miserable flicker of my pork-fat lamp.
1862 M. E. Braddon Lady Audley's Secret I. viii. 139 The pale sky, tinged with the last cold flicker of the dead twilight.
b. A rapid, rhythmic variation in the degree or quality of illumination which is perceptible to the eye; also, the visual sensation caused by this.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sight and vision > [noun] > light sensation > flicker
flicker1892
the world > matter > light > light emitted in particular manner > [noun] > gleam, glimmer, or flicker > rapid flicker
flicker1892
1892 E. S. Ferry in Amer. Jrnl. Sci. 144 195 A vibration of the lamp or of the diffraction-grating produces a flicker in the field of view that cannot be distinguished from the appearance produced by a too slow rotation of the sectored disc.
1912 London, Edinb., & Dublin Philos. Mag. 6th Ser. 24 370 The fovea is more sensitive to red flicker, the periphery to blue.
1929 C. Murchison Found. Exper. Psychol. iv. 200 Chromatic flicker can be evoked by alternating, upon the same retinal area, two stimuli which differ in wave-length composition but which are photometrically equal.
1944 W. D. Wright Measurem. Colour iv. 107 The sensation of flicker due to alternations in colour vanishes at a lower frequency of alternation than the flicker due to difference in brightness.
1962 H. C. Weston Sight, Light & Work (ed. 2) v. 161 There is ordinarily no visible flicker from flourescent lamps, although sometimes it is apparent at their extremities as seen by peripheral vision.
c. Cinematography and Television. A succession of sudden, abrupt changes in a picture, such as occurs when the number of frames per second is too small to produce persistence of vision.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > cinematography > a film > [noun] > faults
ghost image1872
flicker1899
jitter1943
strobing1959
flickering1968
society > communication > broadcasting > television > visual element > [noun] > television picture or image > defects in
multiple image1863
ghost1927
flicker1933
ion spot1936
halation1937
blooming1940
shading1940
misregistration1942
snow1946
snowstorm1948
ringing1949
streaking1956
strobing1961
flickering1968
1899 H. V. Hopwood Living Pict. vi. 208 A continual rattle impinging on the ear tends to intensify irritation caused to the eye by flicker on the screen.
1923 F. A. Talbot Moving Pictures 7 The regularity of this recurring damping wave, described as ‘flicker’, set up severe eye-strain.
1933 Discovery May 157/1 The ultra~short waves enable images with much greater detail and almost complete absence of flicker to be transmitted.
1953 H. A. Chinn Television Broadcasting i. 6 The minimum acceptable frame frequency is that required for the elimination of flicker.
1968 Times 18 Apr. 2/8 (headline) TV flicker led to death.
d. A rapid variation in the quality of a sound analogous to visual flicker (see sense 2b above).
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > thing heard > [noun] > sound > fluctuation
flicker1922
flutter1931
1922 Physical Rev. 20 332 It has been found possible..to make use of the perception of flicker in an alternation phonometer. Let two frequencies alternate in the ear at a suitable rate, [etc.].
1934 C. Murchison Handbk. Gen. Exper. Psychol. xvi. 897 The former used a flicker method, the tones to be compared being presented to the ears alternately at the rate of about 25 alternations a second.
1953 C. E. Osgood Method & Theory Exper. Psychol. iv. 146 Simultaneous auditory flicker..was found to increase the pronouncedness of visual flicker if it was already present.
3. In plural = flick n.1 1e. colloquial.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > cinematography > [noun] > films or the cinema
cinematograph1896
animation1897
cinema1908
movies1909
movie screen1912
pic1913
big screen1914
film1915
motion pictures1915
picture1915
screen1915
seventh art1921
celluloid1922
silver screen1924
flick1926
flickers1927
pix1932
1927 W. E. Collinson Contemp. Eng. 113 We all know the word movies, but still use pictures or cinema [si'nima] in preference to the American term... Mr. Titley adds the slang flicks or flickers, unknown to me.
1930 W. de la Mare Desert Islands 2 Some of the best of the ‘flickers’ or ‘movies’.
1938 G. Greene Brighton Rock i. iii. 43 What about you and me going across to the flickers?
1969 L. Gish & A. Pinchot Lillian Gish iii. 31 Mother, guess who we saw acting in ‘flickers’!
Compounds
C1.
flicker frequency n.
ΚΠ
1907 Nat. Electr. Light Assoc. 30th Convention I. 337 The most sensitive flicker frequency for small ranges of flicker was in the neighborhood of 2.5 cycles per second.
1922 Jrnl. Optical Soc. Amer. 6 7 The substantial independence of critical flicker frequency upon chroma is..the basis of the critical frequency method of heterochromatic photometry.
C2.
flicker effect n. Electronics a relatively low-frequency random fluctuation in the current emitted by a cathode in a thermionic valve, caused by changes in the state of the emitting surface; also, a similar effect in transistors and other solid-state devices.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electronics > electronic devices or components > thermionic valve > [noun] > other specific effects
flicker effect1926
Miller effect1931
flicker noise1947
1926 W. Schottky in Physical Rev. 28 77 If we had to do with emission of light instead of electrons, we would speak of a chaotic variation of light intensity taking place over the surface of the cathode, a phenomenon which we should describe by the word ‘flicker’. If..Johnson's explanation of the phenomenon is the correct one, then we may use the analogy and call the new effect the ‘flicker effect’.
flicker fusion n. the apparent steadiness of a regularly varying source of light when the frequency of the variation is sufficiently great.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > light > [noun] > state of equilibrium
photoequilibrium1906
flicker fusion1936
flicker-fusion frequency1944
1936 Jrnl. Gen. Physiol. 19 514 Flicker fusion depends upon the suppression of intensity discrimination.
flicker-fusion frequency n. the lowest rate of variation at which flicker is not perceptible; also called critical flicker (also fusion) frequency.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > light > [noun] > state of equilibrium
photoequilibrium1906
flicker fusion1936
flicker-fusion frequency1944
1944 Federation Proc. (Federation Amer. Soc. Exper. Biol.) 3 6 (heading) Changes in flicker fusion frequency (F.F.F.) under experimental stress.
1962 H. C. Weston Sight, Light & Work (ed. 2) v. 161 The fluctuation in light output of electric lamps caused by a 50-cycle alternating current..is faster than the usual ‘flicker fusion frequency’ for the bright-adapted eye.
flicker method n. the use of flicker photometry.
ΚΠ
1897 Jrnl. Physiol. 22 143 The most marked discrepancy between the band and flicker methods was in the case of red.
1902 Amer. Jrnl. Psychol. 13 139 The brightnesses of these colors were determined by Rood's ‘Flicker-method’.
1902 Amer. Jrnl. Psychol. 13 145 Shades of gray paper were selected by the ‘Flicker Method’, differing as little as possible from the brightness of the colors used.
1934Flicker method [see sense 2d]. flicker noise n. Electronics noise due to the flicker effect.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electronics > electronic devices or components > thermionic valve > [noun] > other specific effects
flicker effect1926
Miller effect1931
flicker noise1947
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electronics > electronic phenomena > signal > [noun] > unwanted part of signal > types of
stray1901
atmospherics1905
static1905
pickup1925
ambient noise1926
background1927
ground noise1929
hum1929
Johnson noise1929
microphonic1929
thermal noise1930
parasitic1943
flicker noise1947
overhang1971
1947 Proc. Physical Soc. 59 366 At low frequencies (< 103 to 104 c.p.s.) flicker noise may be tens or even hundreds of times greater than Johnson or shot noise.
1960 D. A. Bell Electr. Noise xii. 274 When working with semiconductors there is always a risk of flicker noise being introduced at the electrode contacts.
flicker photometer n. an instrument for measuring the relative intensities of light from two different sources, esp. sources of different colours, by measuring the flicker or observing the absence of flicker when the field of view is illuminated alternately by the two sources of light.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sight and vision > optical instruments > instruments for measuring > [noun] > light or radiation
phaometer1747
photometer1779
diaphanometer1789
lucimeter1825
refractometer1842
Abbe refractometer1876
dietheroscope1877
reflectometer1879
radiomicrometer1887
holophotometer1888
flicker photometer1896
microphotometer1899
diffractometer1909
spot meter1952
photopolarimeter1971
1896 F. P. Whitman in Physical Rev. 3 241 (heading) On the photometry of differently colored lights and the ‘flicker’ photometer.
1955 J. W. Wentworth Color Television Engin. iii. 59 The best instrument for measuring the luminances of ‘colored’ surfaces is the flicker photometer.
flicker photometry n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > light > intensity of light, luminosity > [noun] > degree of intensity > measurement of
photometry1807
light curve1857
flicker photometry1897
spectrophotometry1899
photometering1917
1897 Jrnl. Physiol. 21 47 According to the rules of flicker-photometry..flicker should disappear from the whole surface of the disc at the same minimal speed.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1897; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
flickern.4
/ˈflɪkə/, U.S. /ˈflɪkər/ U.S.
The popular name of various American species of woodpecker.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > birds > perching birds > order Piciformes > [noun] > family Picidae > genus Colaptes (flicker)
flicker1849
1849 H. D. Thoreau Week Concord & Merrimack Rivers 333 The flicker's cackle is heard in the clearing.
1870 J. R. Lowell My Study Windows 19 The flicker makes good his claim to the title of pigeon-woodpecker.
1888 Riverside Nat. Hist. IV. Introd. 8 The two flickers are mainly characterized by the color of the under-surface of the wing and tail feathers, these being red in the red shafted (Colaptes mexicanus), gamboge yellow in the yellow-shafted flicker (C. auratus).
1888 Riverside Nat. Hist. IV. 428 The Cape flicker (C. chrysoides), with red moustache.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1897; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
† flickeradj.
Obsolete. rare.
Unsteadfast, wavering.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > decision > irresolution or vacillation > inconstancy > [adjective]
unfastc888
unstathelfasteOE
unsteadfasta1200
fleeting?c1225
changeablea1275
ficklea1275
unstablec1290
waveringc1315
flickerc1325
loose in the haftc1325
motleyc1380
unsadc1384
variablea1387
variantc1386
ticklec1400
inconstant1402
flitting1413
brittle1420
plianta1425
mutablec1425
shittle1440
shittle-witted1448
moonishc1450
unconstant1483
unfirm1483
varying?a1500
pliablea1513
fluctuant1575
changeling1577
shittle-headed1580
cheverel1583
off and on1583
chameleon-like1589
changeful1590
limber1602
unsteady1604
ticklish1606
skittish1609
startling1619
labile1623
uncertaina1625
cheverelized1625
remuant1625
fluctuate1631
fluctuary1632
various1636
contrarious1643
epileptical1646
fluxilea1654
shittle-braineda1655
multivolent1656
totter-headed1662
on and off1668
self-inconsistent1678
weathercocka1680
whifflinga1680
versatile1682
veering1684
fast and loose1697
inconsistent1709
insteadfast1728
unfixing1810
unsteadied1814
chameleonic1821
labefact1874
ballastless1884
weathercocky1886
whiffle-minded1902
c1325 Metr. Hom. 36 Forthi asked Crist quether man him soht Als he war man of fliker thoht.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1897; most recently modified version published online June 2021).
flickerv.
/ˈflɪkə/, U.S. /ˈflɪkər/ 1. intransitive. Of a bird: To flutter; to hover. occasionally To flap the wings; to move by flapping the wings.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > birds > flight > [verb (intransitive)] > flap or flutter
fluttera1000
flickerc1000
bate1398
fanc1400
flackerc1400
abatea1475
flack1567
bat1614
beata1616
flusker1660
flop1692
flap1776
flick1853
the world > movement > progressive motion > moving with current of air or water > motion in the air > move in the air [verb (intransitive)] > flutter
flickerc1000
flackerc1400
flitter1483
quitter1513
flack1567
fleck1567
flusker1660
flaffer17..
flit1700
skimmer1824
flutter1853
volitate1866
flurry1883
c1000 Ælfric Homilies II. 156 An blac þrostle flicorode ymbe his neb.
c1405 (c1385) G. Chaucer Knight's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 1104 Aboue hir heed hir dowues flikerynge.
1447 O. Bokenham Lyvys Seyntys (1835) 109 Ovyr hyr as she [a dove] dede hovyr flekerynge.
1581 J. Marbeck Bk. Notes & Common Places 348 Estrich, This bird..cannot mount up to flie aloft, but flickereth in such wise as he cannot be overgone.
1600 R. Surflet tr. C. Estienne & J. Liébault Maison Rustique i. viii. 35 If the duckes..flicker with their wings often and a long time togither.
1700 J. Dryden Chaucer's Palamon & Arcite iii, in Fables 54 The tuneful Lark..flick'ring on her Nest, made short Essays to sing.
1801 C. Smith Lett. Solitary Wanderer I. 255 I saw too..the flying fish..emerging from the waves on their wing-like fins, and flickering along the surface of the water.
1892 R. L. Stevenson & L. Osbourne Wrecker xix. 304 The pinnacles..were flickered about all day long by a multitude of wings.
a. To make caressing or fondling movements with the wing; hence, to act in a fondling or coaxing manner; to dally, hanker, look longingly (after).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > love > flirtation or coquetry > flirt, philander, or dally [verb (intransitive)]
flicker?c1225
dallyc1440
mird?c1625
pickeer1646
to dally away1685
niggle1696
coquet1700
gallant1744
philander1778
flirt1781
fike1804
gallivant1823
butterfly1893
vamp1904
romance1907
to fool up1933
floss1938
cop1940
horse1953
the mind > emotion > love > action of caressing > caress or make a show of affection [verb (intransitive)] > employ coaxing > act in fondling or coaxing manner
flicker?c1225
?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 214 Spit him amit þe beart..þe flikereð swa wið þe.
c1386 G. Chaucer Parson's Tale ⁋783 Yit wol thay kisse, and flikkere, and besien hemself.
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 552/2 I flycker, I kysse togyther, je baise.
1556 J. Heywood Spider & Flie lxiii. 42 Where they may win ought..they flickar, and flatter, in fauer to grow.
1621 R. Burton Anat. Melancholy iii. iii. iv. ii. 701 It is most odious, when an old Acheronticke dizard, that hath one foote in his graue..shall flicker after a young wench.
1697 K. Chetwood Life Virgil in J. Dryden tr. Virgil Wks. sig. **3v Lavinia..looks a little flickering after Turnus.
1806 R. Jamieson Pop. Ballads I. 296 Dorothy..flicker'd at Willie again.
b. slang and dialect. (See quots.)
ΚΠ
1699 B. E. New Dict. Canting Crew To flicker, to grin or flout.
1823 P. Egan Grose's Classical Dict. Vulgar Tongue (rev. ed.) Flickering, grinning, or laughing in a man's face.
1868 J. C. Atkinson Gloss. Cleveland Dial. ‘He flicker'd and flyred lahk a girning cat.’
3.
a. To make a fluttering or vibratory movement; to wave to and fro; to flutter (in the air or wind); to quiver, vibrate, undulate. Of wind: To blow in light gusts.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in specific manner > irregular movement or agitation > move irregularly or be agitated [verb (intransitive)] > flutter or flicker
flatterc1425
flitter1483
flickera1500
flutter1561
play1590
swattera1666
whiff1686
feather1770
whiffle1817
the world > the earth > weather and the atmosphere > weather > wind > blow (of the wind) [verb (intransitive)] > blow fitfully > in puffs
whiff1605
whiffle1671
flicker1873
fuff1876
a1500 (?c1450) Merlin xx. 324 Theire baners..flekered in the wynde.
a1577 G. Gascoigne Wks. (1587) 299 I see not one..Whose feathers flant and flicker in the winds.
1601 P. Holland tr. Pliny Hist. World I. xviii. xxxv. 613 You shall marke the leaves of trees to move, flicker & play themselves.
1633 J. Fisher Fuimus Troes ii. v. sig. Div Troopes, With gawdie pennons flickering in the aire.
1793 Earl of Buchan Ess., Spring (1812) 77 The darkest indigo blue was seen..to flicker on the surface of this molten gold.
1850 Ld. Tennyson In Memoriam cviii. 169 Nor cared the serpent at thy side To flicker with his treble tongue. View more context for this quotation
1853 Ld. Tennyson Dream Fair Women (rev. ed.) in Poems (ed. 8) 155 The high masts flicker'd as they lay afloat.
1873 A. I. Thackeray Old Kensington xi. 89 A wet foggy wind flickered in his face.
b. transitive (causatively.) (Cf. flick v.2)
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in specific manner > move in specific manner [verb (transitive)] > move lightly or briskly > make light movement with
frisk1665
flirta1706
flack1751
flicker1843
flick1844
1843 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. 54 399/2 We mount beside the red-faced, much-becoated individual who is flickering his whip in idle listlessness on the box.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in specific manner > alternating or reciprocating motion > pulsation > pulsate [verb (intransitive)]
beatc1200
quopa1382
quavea1387
flack1393
flackerc1400
whopc1440
flicker1488
throb1788
pulse1851
pulsate1861
1488 (c1478) Hary Actis & Deidis Schir William Wallace (Adv.) (1968–9) ii. l. 268 His hart..flykeryt to and fro.
?1507 W. Dunbar Poems (1998) I. 90 I leif my hert..That neuir mare wald flow nor flicir.
a1522 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid iii. ix. 73 The hait flesch ondir his teth flikkerand.
a1522 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid v. viii. 115 Sprewland and flikkerand in the deid thrawis.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > decision > irresolution or vacillation > be irresolute or vacillate [verb (intransitive)]
haltc825
flecchec1300
waverc1315
flickerc1325
wag1387
swervea1400
floghter1521
stacker1526
to be of (occasionally in) many (also divers) minds1530
wave1532
stagger1533
to hang in the wind1536
to waver as, like, with the wind1548
mammer1554
sway1563
dodge1568
erch1584
suspend1585
float1598
swag1608
hoverc1620
hesitate1623
vacillate1623
fluctuate1634
demur1641
balance1656
to be at shall I, shall I (not)1674
to stand shall I, shall I1674
to go shill-I shall-I1700
to stand at shilly-shally1700
to act, to keep (upon), the volanta1734
whiffle1737
dilly-dally1740
to be in (also of, occasionally on) two minds (also in twenty minds, in (also of) several minds, etc.)1751
oscillate1771
shilly-shally1782
dacker1817
librate1822
humdrum1825
swing1833
(to stand or sit) on or upon the fence1848
to back and fill1854
haver1866
wobble1867
shaffle1873
dicker1879
to be on the weigh-scales1886
waffle1894
to think twice1898
to teeter on the brink1902
dither1908
vagulate1918
pern1920
c1325 Metr. Hom. 92 This bischop flekerid in his thoht.
c1440 Promptorium Parvulorum 165/2 Flekeryn, or waveryn yn vnstabylle herte, nuto.
6.
a. To flash up and die away alternately. Of a flame: To burn fitfully or unsteadily; also with complement, out, etc.Now the prevailing sense, though scarcely found earlier than the 19th cent.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > light > light emitted in particular manner > [verb (intransitive)] > gleam, glimmer, or flicker
shimmera1100
blenk1303
leamc1330
blysnec1400
glimmerc1400
glimpsec1400
glintc1440
glim1481
lemyrea1500
glimster1565
glance1568
flicker1608
simper1633
gloat1644
gleen1662
shimper1674
blink1786
skimmer1788
flash1791
sheen1812
glinter1851
flimmer1880
1608 [implied in: W. Shakespeare King Lear vii. 104 Whose influence like the wreath of radient fire In flitkering [1623 flicking] Phœbus front.
1791 [implied in: Earl of Buchan Ess., Lett. Imitation Ancients (1812) 99 The..flickering rays of the departing light. (at flickering adj. 5)].
1820 J. Keats Eve of St. Agnes in Lamia & Other Poems 103 A chain-droop'd lamp was flickering by each door.
1828 W. Scott Fair Maid of Perth iv, in Chron. Canongate 2nd Ser. I. 98 Eying the firmament, in which no slight shades of grey were beginning to flicker.
1858 J. A. Froude Hist. Eng. (ed. 2) III. xv. 305 Sheet lightning, flickering harmlessly in the distance.
1871 B. Taylor tr. J. W. von Goethe Faust II. v. iv. 356 The fire sinks down, and flickers low.
1883 S. C. Hall Retrospect Long Life II. 197 The wasted flame soon afterwards flickered out.
b. transferred and figurative; also with up.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > duration > shortness or brevity in time > swift movement of time > be transitory, fly past [verb (intransitive)] > flash or appear occasionally
flicker1826
1826 C. Lamb in New Monthly Mag. 16 26 We love..to watch a quirk..flickering upon the lips some seconds before the tongue is delivered of it.
1851 D. Jerrold St. Giles & St. James (new ed.) ix, in Writings I. 84 A faint smile flickered at his lips.
1858 C. Merivale Hist. Romans under Empire VI. lix. 596 A gleam of hope still flickered in their bosoms.
1876 J. Weiss Wit, Humor, & Shakespeare iii. 81 Dogberry flickers up into a kind of lukewarmness.
1892 Speaker 3 Sept. 276/2 Precious lives which have..flickered out in the cruel storm.
7. transitive.
a. To cause to flash or burn unsteadily or fitfully.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > light > light emitted in particular manner > [verb (transitive)] > emit (light, etc.) with a flash > cause to flash or flicker
lightena1586
flare1745
flash1850
flicker1869
1869 Sat. Rev. 8 70/2 The Supreme Pontiff..flickers his lightnings over the prostrate rebels.
1882 T. Mozley Reminisc. Oriel II. Add. 428 The thought that the huge Alps all about us had been flickered like a candle.
b. To cause to move in a fitful and unsteady manner; to indicate by a flicker.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in specific manner > irregular movement or agitation > agitate [verb (transitive)] > cause to flutter or flicker
waverc1425
wear?a1505
flutter1621
flitter1864
wink1883
flicker1903
zither1930
society > communication > indication > gesturing or gesture > make gestures [verb (transitive)] > express or accompany by gesture
signc1520
gesture1589
gesticulate1616
beck1821
language1824
flicker1903
physicalize1947
1903 R. Langbridge Flame & Flood viii He watched her eye-lashes flicker dismissal.
1903 R. Langbridge Flame & Flood xxii There was yet a partial inhumanity which licked its lips..which..burned as fiercely on the side of justice as injustice,..flickering an equal encouragement to ‘I can't go!’ and—‘I must!’
1907 Munsey's Mag. Dec. 308/1 [They] entered the castle..; the torches flickering weird shadows as they walked between them.
1923 D. H. Lawrence Birds, Beasts & Flowers (N.Y. ed.) 104 He lifted his head from his drinking..And flickered his two-forked tongue from his lips.
8. intransitive. = bicker v. ? Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > dissent > quarrel or quarrelling > quarrel [verb (intransitive)] > in petty manner
squabblea1616
tift1780
flicker1809
tiff1859
naggle1863
frip1921
1776 [implied in: J. Adams in J. Adams & A. Adams Familiar Lett. (1876) 175 The newspapers..will inform you of public affairs, and the particular flickerings of parties in this colony. (at flickering n.)].
1809 J. Adams Wks. (1854) IX. 242 We flickered, disputed, and wrangled..but always with a species of good humour.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1897; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.11598
n.21676
n.31849n.41849adj.c1325v.c1000- fire prong
- fire protection
- fire pump
- fire quencher
- fire raft
- fire rake
- fire ranger
- fire regulation
- fire retardance
- fire retardancy
- fire risk
- fire road
- fire room
- fire safety
- fire salamander
- fire sale
- fire screen
- fire season
- fire service
- fire set
- fire shaft
- fire shell
- fire shock
- fire shooting
- fire shovel