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fledge

verb, adj — 5 senses

fledge

verb

/flɛd͡ʒ/

Etymology From Middle English flegge, fligge, flygge, from Old English *flyċġe (“able to fly, fledged”) (attested in *unflyċġe, unfligge (“unfledged”)), from Proto-West Germanic *flugi, from Proto-Germanic *flugjaz (“able to fly, fledged”), from Proto-Indo-European *plewk- (“to run, flow, be swift, flee, fly”). Cognates From Proto-Germanic: Dutch vlug (“fledged, able to fly, nimble, swift”), Low German flügg (“fledged”), German flügge, German flücke (“fledged”), Icelandic fleygur (“able to fly, fledged”)

1

To care for a young bird until it is capable of flight.

2

To grow, cover or be covered with feathers.

3

To decorate with feathers.

4

To complete the last moult and become a winged adult insect.

Derived terms
fledgeless, fledgling, full-fledged, postfledging, unfledged
Related terms
fletch, fletcher, fligger

fledge

adj

Etymology From Middle English flegge, fligge, flygge, from Old English *flyċġe (“able to fly, fledged”) (attested in *unflyċġe, unfligge (“unfledged”)), from Proto-West Germanic *flugi, from Proto-Germanic *flugjaz (“able to fly, fledged”), from Proto-Indo-European *plewk- (“to run, flow, be swift, flee, fly”). Cognates From Proto-Germanic: Dutch vlug (“fledged, able to fly, nimble, swift”), Low German flügg (“fledged”), German flügge, German flücke (“fledged”), Icelandic fleygur (“able to fly, fledged”)

1

Archaic Feathered; furnished with feathers or wings; able to fly.

  • his shoulders, fledge with wings1667, John Milton, “Book III”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC:

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.

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