flite

Meaning

Noun

1. a quarrel, dispute, wrangling.
2. a scolding.

Verb

1. to dispute, quarrel, wrangle, brawl.
2. to scold, jeer.
3. (obsolete) to make or utter complaint.

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: flit

Inherited from Old English: flit

Cognate with Scots: flyte

Cognate with Saterland Frisian: Fliet

Cognate with Dutch: vlijt

Cognate with German: Fleiß

Cognate with Danish: flid

Cognate with Swedish: flit

Inherited from Middle English: flyten

Inherited from Old English: flītan

Cognate with German: befleissen

Cognate with Swedish: beflita

Cognate with Norwegian Bokmål: beflitte

In summary

From Middle English flit, from Old English flit, ġeflit (“strife, contention”), from Proto-West Germanic *flit. The Old English term had a short vowel, so the modern term must have had its vowel leveled in from the verb at some point in its history.
Cognate with Scots flyte (“scolding, chiding, reproof”),
Saterland Frisian Fliet (“zeal, diligence”), Dutch vlijt (“zeal, diligence”), German Low German Fliet (“zeal, diligence”), German Fleiß (“zeal, diligence”), Danish flid (“zeal, diligence”), Swedish flit (“zeal, diligence”).