flutter
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈflʌtə/
ipa: /ˈflʌtɚ/
ipa: [-ɾɚ]
rhymes: -ʌtə(ɹ)
Forms: form: flutters
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 sparkle, glitter”). More at float.
Senses: examples: text: the flutter of a fan
text: the chirp and flutter of some single bird
ref: c. 1838, Richard Monckton Milnes, The Forest:
glosses: The act of fluttering; quick and irregular motion.
examples: text: flutter of spirits
ref: 1733, [Alexander Pope], An Essay on Man. […], (please specify |epistle=I to IV), London: […] J[ohn] Wilford, […], →OCLC:
text: Their visitor was an issue - at least to the imagination, and they arrived finally, under provocation, at intensities of flutter in which they felt themselves so compromised by his hoverings that they could only consider with relief the fact of nobody's knowing.
ref: 1900, Henry James, The Soft Side The Third Person Chapter 3
glosses: A state of agitation.
glosses: An abnormal rapid pulsation of the heart.
examples: text: The possibility was studied that there might be some unknown phenomenon at work that could cause a reduction in structural stiffness with age. Such a reduction in stiffness could result in a reduced flutter speed and lead to flutter. In 2004, Airbus conducted GVT in support of its MRTT program. The testing was conducted on an aged A310 aircraft (MSN 523) that had accumulated over 28 000 flight hours. This test aircraft had the same design of VTP and rudder as the occurrence aircraft. GVT results found that fin bending and rudder rotation frequencies of the MRTT test aircraft were consistent with those obtained during the original A310-300 certification. No indication was found to suggest that stiffness had reduced with age.
ref: 2007, Transportation Safety Board of Canada, “1.12.12 Age-Related Structures and Materials Degradation”, in Aviation Investigation Report A05F0047, Loss of Rudder in Flight, Air Transat Airbus A310-308 C-GPAT, Miami, Florida, 90 nm S, 06 March 2005, archived from the original on 23 Jul 2021, page 40:
topics: aerodynamics
aerospace
business
engineering
natural-sciences
physical-sciences
physics
glosses: An extremely dangerous divergent oscillation caused by a positive feedback loop between the elastic deformation of an object and the aerodynamic forces acting on it, potentially resulting in rapid structural failure.
examples: text: "Oh, by the way, I heard of a rather good thing today, New Kleinfonteins; it's a gold mine in Rhodesia. If you'd like to have a flutter you might make a bit."
ref: 1915, W. Somerset Maugham, chapter 93, in Of Human Bondage:
text: 30 July, 2009, Eurosport, Gray Matter: How will Schu do?
So with his victory odds currently at 14/1 or 3/1 for the podium, he's still most certainly well worth a flutter […]
glosses: A small bet or risky investment.
glosses: A hasty game of cards or similar.
topics: audio
business
electrical-engineering
electricity
electromagnetism
electronics
energy
engineering
natural-sciences
physical-sciences
physics
coordinate_terms: wow
glosses: The rapid variation of signal parameters, such as amplitude, phase, and frequency.
Derived terms: flutterball
flutterboard
flutterby
flutter in the dovecote
flutter kick
flutterless
fluttersome
flutter tongue
flutter wheel
fluttery
synchronous diaphragmatic flutter
take a flutter