An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/Flitter
Flitter, masculine, ‘spangle, tinsel,’ simply Modern High German; originally ‘a small thin tin coin’; akin to Middle High German gevlitter, ‘secret laughter, tittering,’ vlittern, verb, ‘to whisper, titter,’ Old High German flitarezzen, ‘to coax in a flattering manner’; Middle English fliteren, ‘to flutter,’ English flittermouse. The root idea is ‘unsteady motion,’ upon which Modern High German Flitter is based. With the meaning of Old High German flitarezzen, ‘to flatter, fondle,’ as well as Modern High German flïtern, ‘to whisper, titter,’ is connected Flitterwoche, feminine, which first occurs in early Modern High German. The following foreign terms are interesting: — Scandinavian hjúnóttsmánaþr, literally ‘a month of the nuptial night’; Danish hvedebrodsdage, literally ‘wheat-bread days’; English honeymoon, derived from the Scandinavian word?, or rather formed from the Romance phrases, such as French lune de miel, Italian luna di miele.