Flicker

How to spell flicker

7 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce flicker

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does flicker mean?

1. verbTo shine or burn with an unsteady, wavering light.
2. nounA brief, unsteady movement of light, or a fleeting trace of an emotion.

Flicker in a sentence

• verb

  The candle began to flicker as a draught crossed the room.

• noun

  A faint flicker of candlelight showed under the door.

• verb

  Old fluorescent tubes often flicker before they finally fail.

• noun

  She noticed a flicker of doubt cross his face.

Where does flicker come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

Flicker descends from the Old English verb flicorian, which meant 'to flutter' and was used originally of birds beating their wings rapidly. It belongs to a family of Germanic words imitating quick, light movement, and the related verb 'flutter' shares the same restless sense. Over the centuries the meaning shifted from physical fluttering to the unsteady wavering of light, so that by the early modern period a candle or flame could 'flicker'. The -er ending here is the old frequentative suffix, signalling an action done in rapid, repeated bursts, the same element you hear in 'glimmer', 'shimmer' and 'glitter'. Because the word is built straightforwardly on the everyday verb 'flick' plus that familiar suffix, its spelling holds few surprises beyond remembering the single 'ck'.

How the word is built

• flick (to move lightly and quickly)
• -er (frequentative suffix denoting repeated action)