Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Flicker

Flicker (flik"ẽr) , intransitive verb

[Old English flikeren, flekeren, to flutter, Anglo-Saxon flicerian, flicorian, compare Dutch flikkeren to sparkle. r84. Compare Flacker.]

1.
To flutter; to flap the wings without flying.
And flickering on her nest made short essays to sing. — Dryden
2.
To waver unsteadily, like a flame in a current of air, or when about to expire; as, the flickering light.
The shadows flicker to fro. — Tennyson

Flicker , noun

1.
The act of wavering or of fluttering; fluctuation; sudden and brief increase of brightness; as, the last flicker of the dying flame.
2.
(Zoology) The golden-winged woodpecker (Colaptes aurutus); -- so called from its spring note. Called also yellow-hammer, high-holder, pigeon woodpecker, and yucca.
The cackle of the flicker among the oaks. — Thoureau