zitheringhttp://www.oed.com/dictionary/zithering_adj%3Ftab%3Dmeaning_and_usezithering, adj.
Revised 2021

zitheringadjective

  1. 1889–
    Reminiscent of or involving a zither; buzzing, humming; (also) flickering, fluttering (cf. zither v. 1b).
    1. 1889
      It swithered through the badly-fixed windows, making zithering sounds as of an army of cold and frozen-out mosquitoes.
      M. Ostlere, Dead! iii. 76
    2. 1966
      The mastodon was finished, putrefying below the walls in a zithering swarm of flies.
      J. Gaskell, City (1970) iv. 136
    3. 1979
      The helicopter..trailing a zithering shadow.
      H. McLeave, Double Exposure i. 1
    4. 2007
      A flourish of flutes and zithering strings announce the first images of the diegesis.
      S. Peacock, Reading 24 3

Originally published as part of the entry for zither, v.

zithering, adj. was revised in March 2021.

zithering, adj. was last modified in July 2023.