skitter

skit·ter

Today it means: To move hurriedly or as by bouncing or twitching; to scamper, to scurry; to scuttle. Full definition →

skitter · verb, noun¹

Possibly a frequentative of skite (“to move lightly and hurriedly; to move suddenly, particularly in an oblique direction”) (Scotland, Northern England). The noun is derived from the verb.

From skite (“to defecate”) + -er (frequentative suffix). The noun is derived from the verb.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.