Flicker

Part of speech: verb, noun

Pronunciation: /ˈflɪkə/

Definitions

1. A quick and intermittent flash of light or movement can create a sense of unsteadiness, display irregularity, or suggest temporary excitement
2. The act of emitting brief bursts of fluctuating light or making irregular movements that evoke a dynamic ambiance or shifting state
3. A rapid and unsteady shine or motion that causes a sense of wavering or instability ; a short and swift change or motion that happens repeatedly ; the action of giving off light or moving in a brief, uneven manner

Etymology: The verb "flicker" is old English stock: Old English "flicerian" or "flicorian" meant "to flutter," and it descends into Middle English as "flikeren." Its relatives are scattered across the Germanic languages, with Dutch "flikkeren" and German Low German "flickern" both meaning to flash or flicker, and German "flackern" with the same sense. Old English also had "flacor," meaning "flickering" or "fluttering," and the family traces back to a Proto-West Germanic root behind all of them. The sense of flapping, quick movement is the common thread, and the light-related meaning developed from it. The noun is the more surprising side of the story. The bird called the flicker, a North American woodpecker, got its name in 1808 in American English. The name may be echoic of the bird's call, or it may come from the white-spotted plumage that seems to flicker as the bird flies. A further possibility is that the bird flicks away bark, wood chips, and debris while it feeds, which may have prompted the name.

Synonyms: flutter, wink, glimmer, spark, twinkle

Antonyms: steadiness, stillness, calm, stability, permanence