flee English · revision 39473

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=Old English, Vespasian Psalter|origins=gem-pro *fleuhaną}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈfliː/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|fleen]], [[inh|ang|flēon|t=to take flight, escape]],^(Skeat 1911)^(Etymonline)^(AHD 2024) from [[gem-pro|*fleuhaną|t=to run away]].^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1995) Its cognates are [[ofs|fliā]], [[osx|fliohan]], [[nl|vlieden]], [[goh|fliohan]] and [[de|fliehen]], [[non|flýja]] and [[got|𐌸𐌻𐌹𐌿𐌷𐌰𐌽|tr=þliuhan]].^(OED 2026)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Hoad 1986)^(SOED 2002) The Gothic initial shows that the Germanic verb began with the consonant thorn, not with f;^(Weekley 1921)^(OED 2026) the OED says the root, pre-Germanic [[m|ine-pro|*tleuk-]], has not been found outside Germanic,^(OED 2026) while Etymonline and the AHD link it to [[ine-pro|*pleu-|t=to flow]],^(Etymonline)^(AHD 2024) a connection that Köbler marks as uncertain.^(Köbler Germ) It was already confused with [[fly]] in Old English, where ''flee'' and ''fly'' shared their past forms,^(SOED 2002)^(Hoad 1986)^(Ayto 2005) though Ayto finds no reliable evidence that they are related.^(Ayto 2005) The past tense fled is a Middle English weak form, which Skeat and Etymonline put down to Scandinavian influence.^(Skeat 1911)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ To run away from danger, to take flight, and to hasten to a place of safety: Old English, in the Vespasian Psalter,^(OED 2026) which Barnhart dates to about 825.^(Barnhart 1995)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Old English also used ''flēon'' for withdrawing from a place or keeping away from a practice.^(OED 2026) In Middle English it gained the senses "pass away quickly, vanish" (c. 1200) and "escape, get safely away" (c. 1300).^(OED 2026) The strong past forms lasted into the 15th century, but weak forms such as ''fled'' are found from the 13th.^(Hoad 1986)^(Weekley 1921) Because ''flee'' and ''fly'' had the same past forms, they became interchangeable in sense,^(Hoad 1986) and ''flee'' is now and then used for flying through the air, often by Shelley.^(OED 2026) In Yorkshire dialect it kept old past tenses such as ''fleead'' and ''flid''.^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 825 – ''flēon'', to run away (Vespasian Psalter).^(Barnhart 1995)^(OED 2026)

+ * c. 1200 – to pass away quickly, vanish.^(OED 2026)

+ * before 1200 – Middle English ''flien'', ''fleien'' (Layamon).^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1300 – to make one's escape (Havelok).^(OED 2026)

+ * 13th century – weak past forms such as ''fled'' appear.^(Hoad 1986)

+ * 15th century – the strong past forms die out.^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To run away from a place, person or danger; to [[escape]]: ''Thousands fled the burning city.''^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)^(AHD 2024)

+ # To hurry towards a place of safety or protection.^(MWU 2024)^(OED 2026)

+ # To move or pass swiftly; to [[vanish]].^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)

+ # To avoid or [[shun]] something.^(MWU 2024)^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[outflee]]

+ * [[unfleeing]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[flight]]

+ * [[fly]]

+ * [[fugitive]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}