flutter

Pronunciation: /ˈflʌtə/

The English word “flutter” has 20 meanings listed here.

verb

To flap or wave quickly but irregularly.
Of a winged animal: to flap the wings without flying; to fly with a light flapping of the wings.
To undergo divergent oscillations (potentially to the point of causing structural failure) due to a positive feedback loop between elastic deformation and aerodynamic forces.
To cause something to flap.
To drive into disorder; to throw into confusion.
To be in a state of agitation or uncertainty.
To be frivolous.
To subject to a lie detector test.

noun

The act of fluttering, or multiple acts thereof; the back-and-forth motion of fluttering; a state of fluttering.
The collective flutter of many similar objects.
A flapping, crackling or rustling sound, as from a fluttering motion or any comparable sound; any series of quick repetitive sounds.
A sound that spreads in the manner of a wave or ripple.
The rapid up-and-down movement of the eyelids, and consequently eyelashes, often seen as intentionally flirtatious or alluring and often attributed to the eyes or eyebrows.
The movement a hand fan with a back-and-forth action using flicks of the wrist, so as to produce a graceful wave-like effect.
The leg motion of various strokes in swimming, especially the flutter kick.
The motion or state of falling while fluttering or falling as to produce fluttering.
A quick and irregular motion or vibration, or multiple such motions.
The trembling movement of an iris caused by a lack of support from the lens or as a complication of cataract surgery.
The vibration, shaking or flapping of fabric, such as in a kite, parachute or sail; the condition of having such a flutter.
The vibration of a bird's throat by rapidly pumping air into it with the mouth open in order to reduce excess body heat; gular flutter.

Etymology

From Middle English floteren, from Old English floterian, flotorian (“to float about, flutter”), from Proto-Germanic *flutrōną, frequentative of Proto-Germanic *flutōną (“to float”), equivalent to float + -er (frequentative suffix). Cognate with West Frisian flodderje (“to flutter, beat”), Dutch flodderen (“to flutter, wave”), Low German fluttern, fluddern (“to flutter”), German flittern (“to…

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Definitions are from Wiktionary, extracted by Kaikki.org, and are available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.