flick

name

1. A diminutive of the female given name Felicity.
2. A diminutive of the female given name Felicia.

   “Felicia Jane "Flick" Beatrix Drummond is a British Conservative Party politician.”

noun

Etymology: From Middle English flykke (“light blow or stroke”). Later uses apparently interpreted as a back-formation from flicker. The use of flick to mean a film or movie derives from the fact that early films had a low frame rate, thus causing the film to "flick" rapidly when projected onto a screen.

1. A short, quick movement, especially a brush, sweep, or flip.

   “He removed the speck of dust with a flick of his finger.”

   “She gave a disdainful flick of her hair and marched out of the room.”

2. A motion picture, movie, film; (in plural, usually preceded by "the") movie theater, cinema.

   “My all-time favorite flick is "Gone with the Wind."”

   “Want to go to the flicks tonight?”

3. A cut that lands with the point, often involving a whip of the foible of the blade to strike at a concealed target.
4. A powerful underarm volley shot.

   “The fourth seed was dominating her 20-year-old opponent with a series of stinging groundstrokes and athletic drive-volleys, striking again in game five when Paszek flicked a forehand pick-up into the tramlines.”

5. The act of pressing a place on a touch screen device.
6. A flitch.

   “a flick of bacon”

7. A unit of time, equal to 1/705,600,000 of a second.
8. A chap or fellow; sometimes as a friendly term of address.

   “'All that I have, dear old flick, is yours for the asking. What can I do?'”

9. A photo.

   “I was taking some flicks of the [p]arade […] and [someone] asked […] if I would like to take a picture of him[.]”

verb

Etymology: From Middle English flykke (“light blow or stroke”). Later uses apparently interpreted as a back-formation from flicker. The use of flick to mean a film or movie derives from the fact that early films had a low frame rate, thus causing the film to "flick" rapidly when projected onto a screen.

1. To move or hit (something) with a short, quick motion.

   “flick one's hair”

   “to flick the dirt from boots”

2. To pass by rapidly, so as not to be perceived clearly.

   “Near-synonym: flit”

   “They were quiet for a time, watching the fields and lanes flick past.”