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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Fly \Fly\ (fl[imac]), verb (used without an object) [imp. {Flew} (fl[=u]); p. p. {Flown} (fl[=o]n); p. pr. & vb. n. {Flying}.] [OE. fleen, fleen, fleyen, flegen, AS. fle['o]gan; akin to D. vliegen, OHG. fliogan, G. fliegen, Icel. flj[=u]ga, Sw. flyga, Dan. flyve, Goth. us-flaugjan to cause to fly away, blow about, and perh. to L. pluma feather, E. plume. [root]84. Cf. {Fledge}, {Flight}, {Flock} of animals.]
1. To move in or pass through the air with wings, as a bird.
2. To move through the air or before the wind; esp., to pass or be driven rapidly through the air by any impulse.
3. To float, wave, or rise in the air, as sparks or a flag.
Man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward. --Job v. 7.
4. To move or pass swiftly; to hasten away; to circulate rapidly; as, a ship flies on the deep; a top flies around; rumor flies.
Fly, envious Time, till thou run out thy race. --Milton.
The dark waves murmured as the ships flew on. --Bryant.
5. To run from danger; to attempt to escape; to flee; as, an enemy or a coward flies. See Note under {Flee}.
Fly, ere evil intercept thy flight. --Milton.
Whither shall I fly to escape their hands ? --Shak.
6. To move suddenly, or with violence; to do an act suddenly or swiftly; -- usually with a qualifying word; as, a door flies open; a bomb flies apart.
{To fly about} (Naut.), to change frequently in a short time; -- said of the wind.
{To fly around}, to move about in haste. [Colloq.]
{To fly at}, to spring toward; to rush on; to attack suddenly.
{To fly in the face of}, to insult; to assail; to set at defiance; to oppose with violence; to act in direct opposition to; to resist.
{To fly off}, to separate, or become detached suddenly; to revolt.
{To fly open}, to open suddenly, or with violence.
{To fly out}. (a) To rush out. (b) To burst into a passion; to break out into license.
{To let fly}. (a) To throw or drive with violence; to discharge. "A man lets fly his arrow without taking any aim." --Addison. (b) (Naut.) To let go suddenly and entirely; as, to let fly the sheets.
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Flying \Fly"ing\, adjective [From {Fly}, verb (used without an object)] Moving in the air with, or as with, wings; moving lightly or rapidly; intended for rapid movement.
{Flying army} (Mil.) a body of cavalry and infantry, kept in motion, to cover its own garrisons and to keep the enemy in continual alarm. --Farrow.
{Flying artillery} (Mil.), artillery trained to rapid evolutions, -- the men being either mounted or trained to spring upon the guns and caissons when they change position.
{Flying bridge}, {Flying camp}. See under {Bridge}, and {Camp}.
{Flying buttress} (Arch.), a contrivance for taking up the thrust of a roof or vault which can not be supported by ordinary buttresses. It consists of a straight bar of masonry, usually sloping, carried on an arch, and a solid pier or buttress sufficient to receive the thrust. The word is generally applied only to the straight bar with supporting arch.
{Flying colors}, flags unfurled and waving in the air; hence:
{To come off with flying colors}, to be victorious; to succeed thoroughly in an undertaking.
{Flying doe} (Zool.), a young female kangaroo.
{Flying dragon}. (a) (Zool.) See {Dragon}, 6. (b) A meteor. See under {Dragon}.
{Flying Dutchman}. (a) A fabled Dutch mariner condemned for his crimes to sail the seas till the day of judgment. (b) A spectral ship.
{Flying fish}. (Zool.) See {Flying fish}, in the Vocabulary.
{Flying fox} (Zool.), see {Flying fox} in the vocabulary.
{Flying frog} (Zool.), either of two East Indian tree frogs of the genus {Rhacophorus} ({Rhacophorus nigrapalmatus} and {Rhacophorus pardalis}), having very large and broadly webbed feet, which serve as parachutes, and enable it to make very long leaps.
{Flying gurnard} (Zool.), a species of gurnard of the genus {Cephalacanthus} or {Dactylopterus}, with very large pectoral fins, said to be able to fly like the flying fish, but not for so great a distance.
Note: Three species are known; that of the Atlantic is {Cephalacanthus volitans}.
{Flying jib} (Naut.), a sail extended outside of the standing jib, on the flying-jib boom.
{Flying-jib boom} (Naut.), an extension of the jib boom.
{Flying kites} (Naut.), light sails carried only in fine weather.
{Flying lemur}. (Zool.) See {Colugo}.
{Flying level} (Civil Engin.), a reconnoissance level over the course of a projected road, canal, etc.
{Flying lizard}. (Zool.) See {Dragon}, noun 6.
{Flying machine}, any apparatus for navigating through the air, especially a heavier-than-air machine. -- {Flying mouse} (Zool.), the opossum mouse ({Acrobates pygm[ae]us}), a marsupial of Australia. Called also {feathertail glider}.
Note: It has lateral folds of skin, like the flying squirrels, and a featherlike tail. -- {Flying party} (Mil.), a body of soldiers detailed to hover about an enemy. -- {Flying phalanger} (Zool.), one of several species of small marsuupials of the genera {Petaurus} and {Belideus}, of Australia and New Guinea, having lateral folds like those of the flying squirrels. The sugar squirrel ({Belideus sciureus}), and the ariel ({Belideus ariel}), are the best known; -- called also {squirrel petaurus} and {flying squirrel}. See {Sugar squirrel}. -- {Flying pinion}, the fly of a clock. -- {Flying sap} (Mil.), the rapid construction of trenches (when the enemy's fire of case shot precludes the method of simple trenching), by means of gabions placed in juxtaposition and filled with earth. -- {Flying shot}, a shot fired at a moving object, as a bird on the wing. -- {Flying spider}. (Zool.) See {Ballooning spider}. -- {Flying squid} (Zool.), an oceanic squid ({Ommastrephes Bartramii} syn. {Sthenoteuthis Bartramii}), abundant in the Gulf Stream, which is able to leap out of the water with such force that it often falls on the deck of a vessel. -- {Flying squirrel} (Zool.) See {Flying squirrel}, in the Vocabulary. -- {Flying start}, a start in a sailing race in which the signal is given while the vessels are under way. -- {Flying torch} (Mil.), a torch attached to a long staff and used for signaling at night.
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
adjective
1: moving swiftly; "fast-flying planes"; "played the difficult passage with flying fingers" [syn: {fast- flying}, {flying}]
2: hurried and brief; "paid a flying visit"; "took a flying glance at the book"; "a quick inspection"; "a fast visit" [syn: {flying}, {quick}, {fast}]
noun
1: an instance of traveling by air; "flying was still an exciting adventure for him" [syn: {flight}, {flying}]
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Definitions retrieved from the Open Source DICT English and WordNet 3.0 dictionaries. Click here for database copyright information.
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