fly English · revision 3388

+ English has two main words spelled ''fly'', both from Old English and related: the verb “to move through the air”, and the noun, the winged insect.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /flaɪ/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ {{homograph|1|move through the air}}

+

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 725|origins=ine-pro *pleuk-}}

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ The verb is [[inh|enm|flien]],^(MWU 2024)^(Etymonline) [[inh|ang|flēogan|t=to fly]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) from [[gem-pro|*fleuganą]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) which Watkins traces to [[ine-pro|*pleuk-]], an extension of [[m|ine-pro|*pleu-|t=to flow]].^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) It is cognate with Dutch vliegen, German fliegen and Old Norse fljúga.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) It is not cognate with [[flee]], but has been confused with it since Old English, when the two verbs differed only in the present stem.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ To move through the air with wings: about 725, in ''Beowulf''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Old English also used it of things carried through the air by the wind.^(Etymonline) “To move swiftly” is from about 1200,^(Etymonline) “to burst into fragments” from about 1300,^(Etymonline) and of time, “to pass swiftly”, from the 1590s.^(Etymonline) Of flags, “to flutter in the wind”, is by the 1650s,^(Etymonline) and the transitive sense, “to make float in the air”, as of a kite, by 1739.^(Etymonline) The noun ''fly'', a flight, is from before 1450, and things attached by one edge as if flapping like a wing, such as a tent fly (1810) and the fly of trousers (1844), come from it.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Cresswell 2021) ''To fly a kite'' meant to raise money on credit in the 19th century and now means to test public opinion.^(Cresswell 2021) The past tense ''flew'' is unexplained, perhaps by association with ''flow''.^(Hoad 1986) ''Fly the coop'' is American from 1887.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 725 – to fly.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1200 – to move swiftly.^(Etymonline)

+ * before 1450 – noun, a flight.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1590s – of time.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1650s – of flags.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1739 – to fly a kite.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1844 – the fly of trousers.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To move through the air with wings.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To travel in an aircraft; to [[pilot]] an aircraft.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To float or flutter in the air, as a flag or kite; to cause to do so.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To move or pass swiftly: ''time flies''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To flee: ''to fly from danger''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # A flap of cloth covering a zip or buttons on trousers.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # A flap at the entrance of a tent, or a fabric cover over a tent.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # ''flies'': the space above a theatre stage.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[flier]]

+ * [[flyover]]

+ * [[flywheel]]

+ * [[flyby]]

+ * [[high-flying]]

+

+ {{homograph|2|insect}}

+

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=before 800|origins=ine-pro *pleu-}}

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ The insect is [[inh|enm|flie]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) [[inh|ang|flēoge|t=fly, winged insect]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) from [[gmw-pro|*fleugā]],^(Hoad 1986) literally “the flying insect”, from the root of [[fly#1]].^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) It is cognate with Dutch vlieg and German Fliege,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) and Old Norse fluga.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Any winged insect: before 800 in Barnhart^(Barnhart 1988) and about 950 in the OED.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Originally, and in popular language, it meant any common flying insect, such as a bee, gnat, moth or locust, as in [[butterfly]];^(Etymonline)^(Cresswell 2021) a 17th-century writer spoke of “the black flies called beetles”.^(Cresswell 2021) A two-winged insect, especially the housefly, is from about 1000.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) The plural flien was gradually replaced by flies between the 13th and 15th centuries.^(Etymonline) A fishing hook dressed to look like an insect is from the 1580s, and ''fly-fishing'' from the 1650s.^(Etymonline) ''A fly in the ointment'' goes back to Ecclesiastes,^(Cresswell 2021)^(Etymonline) ''fly on the wall'' is by 1881,^(Etymonline) and ''no flies on'' someone, “no lack of alertness”, from 1848.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * before 800 – a winged insect.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1000 – a two-winged insect.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1580s – a fishing fly.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1650s – ''fly-fishing''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1848 – ''no flies on''.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1881 – ''fly on the wall''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A two-winged [[insect]], especially the [[housefly]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Any of various other flying insects, such as the [[dragonfly]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # A fishing [[lure]] made to look like an insect.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[housefly]]

+ * [[butterfly]]

+ * [[firefly]]

+ * [[dragonfly]]

+ * [[fly-fishing]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[fly agaric]]

+ * [[flight]]

+ * [[flee]]

+ * [[flow]]

+ * [[fledge]]

+ * [[fowl]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ A slang adjective ''fly'', “sharp, wide-awake”, is from the early 19th century (1811 in Merriam-Webster) and may come from the verb.^(Hoad 1986)^(MWU 2024) A ''fly'' was also a light hired carriage in the 19th century.^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}