fly

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[edit] English

[edit] Pronunciation

[edit] Etymology 1

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From Old English flȳġe, flēoge. Cognate with Scots flee, Dutch vlieg, German Fliege, Swedish fluga.

[edit] Noun

A fly (insect)

Singular
fly

Plural
flies

fly (plural flies)

  1. (zoology) Any insect of the order Diptera; characterized by having two wings, also called true flies.
  2. (non-technical) Especially, any of the insects of the family Muscidae, such as the common housefly (other families of Diptera include mosquitoes and midges).
  3. Any similar, but unrelated insect such as dragonfly or butterfly.
  4. (fishing) A lightweight fishing lure resembling an insect.
  5. (weightlifting) A chest exercise performed by moving extended arms from the sides to in front of the chest. (also flye)
[edit] Derived terms
[edit] Translations
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.

[edit] Etymology 2

From Old English flēogan, from Proto-Germanic *fleuganan, from Proto-Indo-European *pleuk-. Cognate with Dutch vliegen, German fliegen, Swedish flyga; and (from Indo-European) with Lithuanian plaũkti (swim).

[edit] Verb

Infinitive
to fly

Third person singular
flies

Simple past
flew

Past participle
flown

Present participle
flying

to fly (third-person singular simple present flies, present participle flying, simple past flew, past participle flown)

  1. (intransitive) To travel through the air.
    Birds of passage fly to warmer regions as it gets colder in winter.
    The Concorde flew from Paris to New York faster than any other passenger airplane.
    It takes about eleven hours to fly from Frankfurt to Hongkong.
    The little fairy flew home on the back of her friend, the giant eagle.
  2. (intransitive) To flee, to escape.
    Fly, my lord! The enemy are upon us!
  3. (transitive, ergative) To cause to move through the air, to transport by air.
    Charles Lindbergh flew his airplane The Spirit of St. Louis across the Atlantic ocean.
    Why don’t you go outside and fly kites, kids? The wind is just perfect.
    Birds fly their prey to their nest to feed it to their young.
    Each day the post flies thousands of letters around the globe.
  4. (intransitive) (colloquial, of a proposal or idea) To be accepted.
    Let's see if that idea flies.
[edit] Synonyms
[edit] Antonyms
[edit] Derived terms
[edit] Translations
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.

[edit] Noun

Singular
fly

Plural
flies

fly (plural flies)

  1. (obsolete) The action of flying; flight.
  2. An act of flying.
    We had a quick half-hour fly back into the city.
  3. (baseball) A fly ball.
  4. (historical) A type of small, fast carriage.
    • 1897, Bram Stoker, Dracula, Folio Society 2008, p. 124:
      As we left the house in my fly, which had been waiting, Van Helsing said:— ‘Tonight I can sleep in peace [...].’
  5. A piece of canvas that covers the opening at the front of a tent.
  6. A strip of material hiding the zipper, buttons etc. at the front of a pair of trousers, pants, or underpants.
  7. The free edge of a flag.
  8. The horizontal length of a flag.
[edit] Translations

[edit] Verb

Infinitive
to fly

Third person singular
flies

Simple past
flied

Past participle
flied

Present participle
flying

to fly (third-person singular simple present flies, present participle flying, simple past and past participle flied)

  1. (intransitive, baseball) To hit a fly ball; to hit a fly ball which is caught for an out. Compare ground (verb) and line (verb).
    Jones flied to right in his last at-bat.
[edit] Translations

[edit] Etymology 3

Origin uncertain; probably from the verb or noun.

[edit] Adjective

fly (comparative flier, superlative fliest)

  1. (slang) Quick-witted, mentally sharp, smart (in a mental sense).
  2. (slang) Well dressed, smart in appearance.
    He's pretty fly for a white guy.
[edit] Translations

[edit] Danish

[edit] Etymology 1

From Norwegian fly, an abbreviation of flyvemaskin (airplane).

[edit] Noun

fly n. (singular definite flyet, plural indefinite fly)

  1. airplane
[edit] Synonyms
[edit] Inflection

[edit] Etymology 2

From Old Norse flýja (flee).

[edit] Verb

fly (imperative fly, present flyr or flyer, past flyede, past participle flyet, present participle flyende)

  1. flee
  2. shun

[edit] Etymology 3

From late Old Norse fligja, flygja, from Middle Low German vlīen, vlīgen (stack, sort out).

[edit] Verb

fly (imperative fly, present flyr or flyer, past flyede, past participle flyet, present participle flyende)

  1. hand, give

[edit] Norwegian

[edit] Pronunciation

  • IPA: /fɽyː/ or IPA: /flyː/

[edit] Noun

fly

  1. airplane

[edit] Inflection

[edit] Verb

Infinitive
fly
Present tense
flyr
Past tense
flydde
Past participle
flydd
Present participle
flyende


  1. to fly

[edit] Swedish

[edit] Pronunciation

[edit] Verb

Conjugations of fly
Infinitive fly
Present tense flyr
Past tense flydde
Supine flytt
Imperative fly
Present participle flyende
Past participle flydd

fly

  1. flee, run away, escape.
    Fångarna försökte fly från fängelset.
    The prisoners tried to escape from jail.
    Med tårarna strömmande ned för sina kinder flydde hon undan de andra tjejernas glåpord.
    With tears streaming down her cheeks, she fled the taunting words of the other girls.