670: flick Oct 8, 2016

It is easy to think that words and language were simply made up arbitrarily, which in terms of phonetics is for the most part true, even though in terms of meaning it rarely is; usually things are drawn in from other sources. A flick, for example, such as in 'chick flick' or the company, 'Netflix' comes from 'flick', has no real-world association, but that word used to be closer to the experience of viewing films. Early movies were recorded at a mere 16 frames per second, and to avoid blurriness as the frames pass by on a reel, there is a shutter, which at the time was so slow that movies actually appeared to flicker. Even 'flick' is not arbitrary; the 'fl-' in the beginnings of words such as 'flash', 'flame', flare', 'flip’, and many others is indicative of rapid motion. For more on 'fl-' words in Indoeuropean languages, see: /stonewordfacts/2016/09/636-black-blanc-and-blanco-sep-4-2016.html