Meanings
flite1
flite2
present singular third person flites · participle present fliting · past flited · past flote · participle past flited · participle past flote · participle past flitten · alternative Scotland flyte
- obsoleteto make or utter complaint.
Synonyms & antonyms
Origin
flite · noun
- Proto-West Germanic*flit n
- Old Englishflit
- Middle Englishflyt
- Englishflite
From Middle English flyt, flit, iflit, ȝeflit, from Old English flit, ġeflit (“strife, contention”), from Proto-West Germanic *flit n; related to Proto-West Germanic *flīt m, from Proto-Germanic *flītaz (“zeal, striving, diligence”). The term in Old English had a short vowel, so the long vowel in the modern term was likely influenced by the verb (see below). Cognate with Scots flyte (“scolding, chiding, reproof”), Saterland Frisian Fliet (“zeal, diligence”), Dutch vlijt (“zeal, diligence”), German Low German Fliet (“zeal, diligence”), German Fleiß (“zeal, diligence”), Danish flid (“zeal, diligence”), Swedish flit (“zeal, diligence”).
More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-West Germanic
Full word history & related roots →flite · verb
- Proto-West Germanic*flītan“to strive, contend”
- Old Englishflītan“to strive, contend”
- Middle Englishflyten“to argue, quarrel”
- Englishflite
From Middle English flyten (“to argue, quarrel”), from Old English flītan (“to strive, contend”), from Proto-West Germanic *flītan (“to strive, contend”). Akin to German befleissen (“to apply oneself diligently, endeavor”), Swedish beflita (“to apply to, study”), Norwegian Bokmål beflitte (“to endeavour, strive”).
More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-West Germanic
Full word history & related roots →Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with flite
Cite this entry
flite. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/flite
“flite.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/flite. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “flite,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/flite.
Source: flite on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.