flutter
v.v. to move quickly and lightly, like a bird's wings or a leaf in the wind. You can also use it to describe your heart beating fast when you are nervous or excited.
v. to move with a light, irregular, or rapid motion; to flap wings rapidly without flying. Often describes the physiological sensation of a rapid or irregular heartbeat due to excitement or anxiety.
The colorful butterflies flutter from flower to flower in the garden.
She felt her heart flutter with nervous excitement as she stepped onto the stage for her first solo performance.
The curtains began to flutter in the gentle evening breeze, casting shifting shadows across the dimly lit study while the storm approached from the horizon.
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.
The verb can be used both transitively and intransitively.