. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
you have here. The definition of the word
will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of
, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
English
Pronunciation
Etymology 1
From Middle English flye , flie , from Old English flȳġe , flēoge ( “ a fly ” ) , from Proto-Germanic *fleugǭ ( “ a fly ” ) , from Proto-Indo-European *plewk- ( “ to fly ” ) . Cognate with Scots flee , Saterland Frisian Fljooge , Dutch vlieg , German Low German Fleeg , German Fliege , Danish flue , Norwegian Bokmål flue , Norwegian Nynorsk fluge , Swedish fluga , Icelandic fluga .
Noun
A fly (insect)
fly (plural flies )
( zoology ) Any insect of the order Diptera ; characterized by having two wings (except for some wingless species), also called true flies .
2012 January, Douglas Larson, “Runaway Devils Lake ”, in American Scientist , volume 100 , number 1, page 46 :Devils Lake is where I began my career as a limnologist in 1964, studying the lake’s neotenic salamanders and chironomids, or midge flies . […] The Devils Lake Basin is an endorheic, or closed, basin covering about 9,800 square kilometers in northeastern North Dakota.
( non-technical ) Especially , any of the insects of the family Muscidae , such as the common housefly (other families of Diptera include mosquitoes and midges ).
1913 , Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln , chapter V, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients , New York, N.Y., London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company , →OCLC :When you're well enough off so's you don't have to fret about anything but your heft or your diseases you begin to get queer, I suppose. And the queerer the cure for those ailings the bigger the attraction. A place like the Right Livers' Rest was bound to draw freaks, same as molasses draws flies .
Any similar but not closely related insect, such as a dragonfly , butterfly , or gallfly .
( fishing ) A lightweight fishing lure resembling an insect.
1886 , Peter Christen Asbjørnsen , translated by H.L. Brækstad, Folk and Fairy Tales , page 152 :I went on trying for fish along the western bank down the river, but only small trout rose at my flies , and a score was the total catch.
( weightlifting ) A chest exercise performed by moving extended arms from the sides to in front of the chest . (also flye )
( swimming ) The butterfly stroke (plural is normally flys ).
( obsolete ) A witch 's familiar .
1610 (first performance), Ben[jamin] Jonson , The Alchemist , London: Thomas Snodham , for Walter Burre , and are to be sold by Iohn Stepneth, , published 1612 , →OCLC ; reprinted Menston, Yorkshire: The Scolar Press, 1970 , →OCLC , (please specify the GB page) , (please specify the scene number in lowercase Roman numerals) :a trifling fly , none of your great familiars
( obsolete ) A parasite .
1636 , Philip Massinger , “The Bashful Lover ”, in William Gifford, editor, The Plays of Philip Massinger , published 1845 , act 1, scene 1, page 470 :The fly that plays too near the flame burns in it.
( preceded by definite article ) A simple dance in which the hands are shaken in the air, popular in the 1960s.
( finance ) A butterfly (combination of four options).
Hyponyms
Derived terms
Translations
insect of the order Diptera
Afrikaans: vlieg (af)
Bashkir: себен ( seben )
Bikol Central: langaw (bcl)
Bulgarian: муха́ (bg) f ( muhá )
Catalan: mosca (ca) f
Cebuano: langaw
Chinese:
Cantonese: 雙翅目 / 双翅目 ( soeng1 ci3 muk6 )
Mandarin: 雙翅目 / 双翅目 (zh) ( shuāngchìmù )
Chukchi: гыръоӈавыт ( gyrʺoṇavyt )
Eastern Arrernte: amenge
Esperanto: muŝo
Faroese: fluga f
Finnish: kaksisiipinen (fi)
French: mouche (fr) f
Galician: mosca (gl) f
Georgian: ბუზი ( buzi )
German: Fliege (de) f
Alemannic German: Flüüge f
Greek: μύγα (el) f ( mýga )
Ancient Greek: μυῖα f ( muîa )
Haitian Creole: mouch
Ido: musho (io)
Italian: mosca (it) f
Japanese: ハエ目 (ja) ( hae-moku ) , 双翅目 (ja) ( sōshimoku )
Kapampangan: lango
Kriol: please add this translation if you can
Ladin: moscia f
Latin: musca f
Low German:
German Low German: Fleeg f
Macedonian: му́ва f ( múva )
Maltese: dubbiena f
Maori: rango (mi) , rangorango
Marathi: माशी f ( māśī )
Norwegian:
Bokmål: toving f or m , tovinge m
Nynorsk: toveng m
Ojibwe: oojiins
Ottoman Turkish: سیڭك ( siñek )
Persian: دوبالان (fa) ( dobâlân )
Pitjantjatjara: punpunpa
Plautdietsch: Flieej f
Portuguese: díptero m
Quechua: ch'uspi
Romansch: mostga f
Russian: му́ха (ru) f ( múxa ) , двукры́лое (ru) n ( dvukrýloje ) ( dipterous )
Sambali: lango
Serbo-Croatian:
Cyrillic: мува f ( Bosnia, Serbia ) , муха f ( Croatia, Bosnia ) , ( diminutive ) мушица f
Roman: muva (sh) f ( Bosnia, Serbia ) , muha (sh) f ( Croatia, Bosnia ) , ( diminutive ) mušica (sh) f
Skou: lúng
Slovak: mucha (sk) f
Sorbian:
Lower Sorbian: mucha f
Spanish: mosco (es) , mosca (es) f
Swahili: nzi (sw)
Swedish: tvåvinge c
Tagalog: langaw
Tamil: ஈ (ta) ( ī )
Telugu: ఈగ (te) ( īga )
Thai: แมลงวัน (th) ( má-lɛɛng-wan )
Tibetan: སྦྲང་མ ( sbrang ma )
Tocharian B: tanaulyko
Torres Strait Creole: please add this translation if you can
Turkish: sinek (tr)
Ukrainian: му́ха (uk) f ( múxa )
Volapük: musak (vo)
Waray-Waray: langaw
Warlpiri: yumangi
Welsh: pryf (cy) m , pryfed (cy) m pl
Western Arrernte: menge
Zazaki: mês f
insect of the family Muscidae
Abkhaz: амҵ ( amcʼ )
Adnyamathanha: yapu
Afrikaans: vlieg (af)
Aklanon: eangaw
Alawa: wuɳɖil
Albanian: mizë (sq) f
Amharic: ዝንብ ( zənb )
Arabic: ذُبَابَة f ( ḏubāba )
Egyptian Arabic: دبان m ( dibbān ) ( collective ) , دبانة f ( dibbāna ) ( singulative )
Hijazi Arabic: ذُبَّانة f ( dubbāna )
Armenian: ճանճ (hy) ( čanč )
Aromanian: muscã f
Assamese: মাখি ( makhi )
Asturian: mosca (ast) f
Avar: тӏутӏ ( tʼutʼ )
Aymara: chichillanka
Azerbaijani: milçək (az)
Barngarla: yoombara
Bashkir: себен ( seben )
Basque: euli
Bau Bidayuh: tura
Belarusian: му́ха f ( múxa )
Bengali: মাছি (bn) ( machi )
Berber:
Tashelhit: izi m
Bikol Central: langaw (bcl)
Brunei Malay: langau , lalat
Budukh: тӏутӏ ( tʼutʼ )
Bulgarian: муха́ (bg) f ( muhá )
Burmese: ယင်ကောင် (my) ( yangkaung )
Cahuilla: 'a'awet
Catalan: mosca (ca) f
Cebuano: langaw
Central Melanau: lelangau
Chamicuro: kasamelo
Chechen: моза ( moza )
Cherokee: ᏛᎦ ( dvga )
Chichewa: ntchentche
Chinese:
Cantonese: 蒼蠅 / 苍蝇 ( cong1 jing4 ) , 烏蠅 / 乌蝇 ( wu1 jing4-1 )
Hakka: 烏蠅 / 乌蝇 ( vû-yìn )
Hokkien: 胡蠅 / 胡蝇 (zh-min-nan) ( hô͘-sîn )
Mandarin: 蒼蠅 / 苍蝇 (zh) ( cāngying ) , 蠅 / 蝇 (zh) ( yíng ) , 蠅子 / 蝇子 (zh) ( yíngzi )
Chukchi: гыръоӈавыт ( gyrʺoṇavyt )
Chuvash: шӑна ( šăna )
Coptic: ⲁⲁϥ m or f ( ɑf ) ( Sahidic ) , ⲁϥ m or f ( ɑf ) ( Bohairic )
Crimean Tatar: çibin
Czech: moucha (cs) f
Dalmatian: muasca f
Danish: flue (da) c
Dharug: miyanung
Dutch: vlieg (nl) m
Eastern Arrernte: amenge
Egyptian: (ꜥff m )
Erzya: карво ( karvo )
Esperanto: muŝo
Estonian: kärbes (et) , kärbest pl
Evenki: дылкэн ( dilkən )
Faroese: fluga f
Fataluku: upuru
Finnish: kärpänen (fi)
Franco-Provençal: mouche f
French: mouche (fr) f
Friulian: moscje f , mosčhe f
Galician: mosca (gl) f
Ge'ez: ዝንብ ( zǝnb )
Georgian: ბუზი ( buzi )
Old Georgian: მწერი ( mc̣eri )
German: Fliege (de) f
Gorontalo: lango (gor)
Greek: μύγα (el) f ( mýga )
Ancient: μυῖα f ( muîa )
Guaraní: mberu
Guerrero Amuzgo: kíchôⁿ
Haitian Creole: mouch
Hebrew: זְבוּב (he) m ( zvuv )
Hindi: मक्खी (hi) f ( makkhī )
Hungarian: légy (hu)
Iban: lalat
Icelandic: fluga (is) f
Igbo: ijiji
Ilocano: ngilaw
Indonesian: lalat (id) , laler (id) , langau (id)
Ingush: моза ( moza )
Interlingua: musca
Irish: cuileog (ga) f
Isthmus Zapotec: bialazi
Italian: mosca (it) f
Japanese: 蠅 (ja) ( はえ, hae ) , 蝿 (ja) ( はえ, hae ) , ハエ (ja) ( hae )
Javanese: laler (jv)
Karelian: kärbäine
Kashmiri: مٔچھ ( mạch )
Kashubian: mucha
Kaurna: tapu , tupurra (blowfly )
Kazakh: шыбын ( şybyn )
Khinalug: мичаьг ( mičäg )
Khmer: រុយ (km) ( ruy )
Kimaragang: namuk
Komi-Permyak: гут ( gut )
Korean: 파리 (ko) ( pari )
Kriol: please add this translation if you can
Kurdish:
Central Kurdish: مێش (ckb) ( mêş )
Northern Kurdish: mêş (ku) f
Kyrgyz: чымын (ky) ( cımın )
Lao: ມັກຂິກາ ( mak khi kā ) , ແມງວັນ (lo) ( mǣng wan )
Latgalian: myusa f
Latin: musca
Latvian: muša (lv) f
Laz: მჭაჯი ( mç̌aci )
Lezgi: тӏветӏ ( ṭveṭ )
Lithuanian: musė (lt) f
Livonian: kärmi
Lombard: mòsca f
Low German:
German Low German: Fleeg f
Luxembourgish: Méck f
Macedonian: му́ва f ( múva )
Makasae: ufulai
Malagasy: fihitra (mg) , lalitra (mg)
Malay: lalat (ms) , langau (ms) , langau (ms)
Malayalam: ഈച്ച (ml) ( īcca )
Maltese: dubbiena f
Manchu: ᡩᡝᡵᡥᡠᠸᡝ ( derhuwe )
Mansaka: langaw
Maori: rango (mi) , rangorango
Marathi: माशी f ( māśī )
Mauritian Creole: mous
Mazanderani: مهاز ( məhâz )
Mingrelian: ჭანჯი ( č̣anǯi ) , ჭანდი ( č̣andi )
Moksha: кару ( karu )
Mongolian: ялаа (mn) ( jalaa )
Nahuatl:
Classical: zāyōlin
Northern Puebla: sayoli
Tetelcingo: söyuli̱
Nanai: дилуэктэ ( ʒiluekte )
Nanticoke: pootzah!
Narungga: dhababbu
Navajo: tséʼedǫ́ʼii
Ngarrindjeri: tjilhi , tampali (March fly )
Norman: moûque
Norwegian:
Bokmål: flue (no) f or m
Nynorsk: fluge f
Nukunu: thapu
Nupe: dìnní
Occitan: mosca (oc) f
Odia: ମାଛି (or) ( machi )
Ojibwe: oojiins
Old Church Slavonic:
Cyrillic: моуха f ( muxa )
Glagolitic: ⰿⱆⱈⰰ f ( muxa )
Old Javanese: lalĕr
Oromo: titiiisa
Ossetian: бындз ( bynʒ )
Ottoman Turkish: سیڭك ( siñek )
Pashto: مچ (ps) m ( məč )
Persian: مگس (fa) ( magas )
Pitjantjatjara: punpunpa
Polish: mucha (pl) f
Pontic Greek: μυία f ( myía )
Portuguese: mosca (pt) f
Quechua: chuspi
Rohingya: masí
Romagnol: mósca f
Romani: mach
Romanian: muscă (ro) f
Romansch: mustga f , tschitta f
Russian: му́ха (ru) f ( múxa )
Saaroa: 'alaliamʉ
Saho: qaca
Santali: ᱨᱳ ( ro )
Sardinian: musca f
Scottish Gaelic: cuileag f
Serbo-Croatian:
Cyrillic: му̀ва f ( regional Bosnia, Montenegro, Serbia ) , му̀ха f ( Croatia, Bosnia ) , ( diminutive ) му̀шица f
Roman: mùva (sh) f ( regional Bosnia, Montenegro, Serbia ) , mùha (sh) f ( Croatia, Bosnia ) , ( diminutive ) mùšica (sh) f
Sherpa: རེང་མ ( reng ma )
Sicilian: musca (scn) f
Slovak: mucha (sk) f
Slovene: muha (sl) f
Sorbian:
Lower Sorbian: mucha f
Upper Sorbian: mucha f
Southern Altai: чымын ( čïmïn ) , сээк ( seek )
Spanish: mosca (es) f
Swahili: nzi (sw)
Swedish: fluga (sv) c
Sylheti: ꠝꠣꠈꠤ ( makí )
Tabasaran: чӏамчч ( č̣amč̄ )
Tagal Murut: bulongor , togonok
Tagalog: langaw
Tajik: магас (tg) ( magas )
Takia: gbdai
Talysh: muz
Tamil: ஈ (ta) ( ī )
Taos: phų̀yuʼúna
Tat: məgəz
Tatar: чебен (tt) ( çeben )
Tausug: pikut
Telugu: ఈగ (te) ( īga )
Tetum: lalar
Thai: แมลงวัน (th) ( má-lɛɛng-wan )
Tibetan: སྦྲང་བུ ( sbrang bu )
Tigrinya: ሃመማ ( hamäma )
Tocharian B: tanaulyko
Tok Pisin: lang
Tongan: lango
Tonkawa: ˀapansu·s
Torres Strait Creole: please add this translation if you can
Tupinambá: mberu
Turkish: sinek (tr)
Turkmen: siňek
Tuvan: сээк ( seek ) , кара-сээк ( kara-seek )
Tz'utujil: us
Udmurt: кут ( kut )
Ukrainian: му́ха (uk) f ( múxa )
Urdu: مکھی f ( makkhī )
Uyghur: چىۋىن ( chiwin )
Uzbek: pashsha (uz) , chivin (uz)
Venetian: mósca f
Veps: kärbhaine
Vietnamese: ruồi (vi)
Wakhi: maks
Walloon: moxhe (wa)
Warlpiri: yumangi
Welsh: cleren (cy) f
West Coast Bajau: langou
West Frisian: mich
Wiradjuri: burrimal
Wolof: weñ wi (wo)
Yiddish: פֿליג ( flig )
Yoruba: eṣinṣin
Zazaki: mês , mêsı (diq)
Zhuang: nengznyaen
ǃXóõ: gʘkxʻóõ
Translations to be checked
Further reading
Etymology 2
From Middle English flien , from Old English flēogan , from Proto-Germanic *fleuganą (compare Saterland Frisian fljooge , Dutch vliegen , Low German flegen , German fliegen , Danish flyve , Norwegian Nynorsk flyga ), from Proto-Indo-European *plewk- ( *plew-k- , “ to fly ” ) (compare Lithuanian plaũkti ‘to swim’), enlargement of *plew- ( “ flow ” ) . More at flee and flow .
Verb
fly (third-person singular simple present flies , present participle flying , simple past flew , past participle flown )
( intransitive ) To travel through the air , another gas , or a vacuum , without being in contact with a grounded surface.
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 Hong Kong.
The little fairy flew home on the back of her friend, the giant eagle.
2013 September 7, “On a bright new wing ”, in The Economist , volume 408 , number 8852 :Flying using only the power of the sun is an enticing prospect. But manned solar-powered aircraft are fragile and slow, […].
( transitive , intransitive , archaic , poetic ) To flee , to escape (from).
Fly , my lord! The enemy are upon us!
c. 1597 (date written), William Shakespeare , “The Merry Wiues of Windsor ”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies (First Folio ), London: Isaac Iaggard , and Ed Blount , published 1623 , →OCLC , , page 56 , column 1:[V]pon a ſodaine , / As Falſtaffe , ſhe, and I, are newly met, / Let them [children dressed like "urchins, ouphes and fairies"] from forth a ſaw-pit ruſh at once / With ſome diffuſed ſong: Vpon their ſight / We two, in great amazedneſſe will flye : [ …]
c. 1604–1605 (date written), William Shakespeare , “All’s Well, that Ends Well ”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies (First Folio ), London: Isaac Iaggard , and Ed Blount , published 1623 , →OCLC , :to fly the favours of so good a king
1667 , John Milton , “Book V”, in Paradise Lost. , London: [Samuel Simmons ], , →OCLC ; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: , London: Basil Montagu Pickering , 1873 , →OCLC :Fly , ere evil intercept thy flight.
1829 , Edgar Allan Poe , “Tamerlane ”, in Al Aaraaf, Tamerlane and Minor Poems :And boyhood is a summer sun Whose waning is the dreariest one — For all we live to know is known And all we seek to keep hath flown — [ …]
( transitive , ergative ) To cause to fly ( travel or float in the air ) : to transport via air or the like.
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 postal service flies thousands of letters around the globe.
2013 September 7, “On a bright new wing ”, in The Economist , volume 408 , number 8852 :A solar-powered unmanned aerial system (a UAS, more commonly called a drone) could fly long, lonely missions that conventional aircraft would not be capable of.
2015 , Jeromy Hopgood, Dance Production: Design and Technology , page 44 :This area, referred to as the fly loft, should typically be two and a half times taller than the proscenium opening in order to fly the scenery above the vertical sightlines of the first row of the audience.
( intransitive ) To travel or proceed very fast; to hasten.
He flew down the hill on his bicycle.
It's five o'clock already. Doesn't time fly ?
1645 , John Milton , On Time :Fly , envious Time, till thou run out thy race.
1870 , William Cullen Bryant (translator), The Iliad (originally by Homer )
The dark waves murmured as the ship flew on.
2011 September 18, Ben Dirs, “Rugby World Cup 2011: England 41-10 Georgia ”, in BBC Sport :After yet another missed penalty by Kvirikashvili from bang in front of the posts, England scored again, centre Tuilagi flying into the line and touching down under the bar.
( intransitive ) To move suddenly, or with violence; to do an act suddenly or swiftly.
a door flies open
a bomb flies apart
1859 December 13, Charles Dickens , “The Mortals in the House”, in Charles Dickens, editor, The Haunted House . The Extra Christmas Number of All the Year Round , volume II, London: C. Whiting, , →OCLC , page 7 , column 1:And in respect of the great necessity there is, my darling, for more employments being within the reach of Woman than our civilisation has as yet assigned to her, don’t fly at the unfortunate men, even those men who are at first sight in your way, as if they were the natural oppressors of your sex [ …]
( intransitive ) To proceed with great success.
His career is really flying at the moment.
One moment the company was flying high, the next it was on its knees.
( intransitive , colloquial , of a proposal, project or idea) To be accepted , come about or work out .
Let's see if that idea flies .
You know, I just don't think that's going to fly . Why don't you spend your time on something better?
( transitive , ergative ) To display (a flag) on a flagpole.
( transitive ) To hunt with a hawk .
( intransitive , entomology , of a type of moth or butterfly) To be in the winged adult stage.
This species flies from late summer until frost .
Conjugation
Synonyms
( travel through air ) : soar , hover , wing , skim , glide , ascend , rise , float , aviate
( flee ) : escape , flee , abscond ; see also Thesaurus:flee
( travel very fast ) : dart , flit ; see also Thesaurus:move quickly
( do an act suddenly ) : hurry , zoom ; see also Thesaurus:rush
Antonyms
Hyponyms
Derived terms
Related terms
Translations
to travel through air
Afrikaans: vlieg (af)
Aklanon: lupad
Albanian: fluturoj (sq)
Arabic: طَارَ (ar) ( ṭāra )
Egyptian Arabic: طار ( ṭār )
Aramaic:
Syriac: ܦܪܚ ( praħ )
Armenian: թռնել (hy) ( tʿṙnel ) , թռչել (hy) ( tʿṙčʿel )
Aromanian: azboair , azbor
Assamese: উৰ ( ur )
Asturian: volar (ast)
Atong: pyw
Avar: боржизе ( boržize )
Azerbaijani: uçmaq (az)
Balinese: miber , makeber , keber
Bashkir: осоу ( osow )
Basque: hegan egin (eu)
Belarusian: ( abstract ) лята́ць impf ( ljatácʹ ) , лётаць impf ( ljótacʹ ) , палята́ць pf ( paljatácʹ ) , палётаць pf ( paljótacʹ ) , ( concrete ) ляце́ць impf ( ljacjécʹ ) , паляце́ць pf ( paljacjécʹ )
Bengali: ওড়া (bn) ( ōṛa )
Bikol Central: layog (bcl)
Bulgarian: летя́ (bg) impf ( letjá )
Burmese: ပျံ (my) ( pyam )
Catalan: volar (ca)
Cebuano: lupad
Chinese:
Cantonese: 飛 / 飞 (yue) ( fei1 ) , 坐飛機 / 坐飞机 ( co5 fei1 gei1 ) ( fly on a plane )
Eastern Min: 飛 / 飞 ( buŏi )
Mandarin: 飛 / 飞 (zh) ( fēi ) , 飛行 / 飞行 (zh) ( fēixíng )
Czech: létat (cs) impf ( abstract ) , letět (cs) impf ( concrete )
Danish: flyve (da)
Dolgan: көт ( köt )
Dutch: vliegen (nl)
Egyptian: (pꜣj ), (ꜥẖj ), (ꜥpj )
Esperanto: flugi
Estonian: lendama (et)
Even: дэгдэй ( dəgdəj )
Evenki: дэгми ( dəgmi )
Faroese: flúgva (fo) , ( archaic ) fljúgva
Finnish: lentää (fi)
French: voler (fr)
Friulian: svolâ
Galician: voar (gl)
Georgian: ფრენა ( prena )
German: fliegen (de)
Greek: πετώ (el) ( petó )
Ancient: πέτομαι ( pétomai )
Greenlandic: timmivoq ( birds ) , timmisartorpoq ( aircraft )
Haitian Creole: vole
Hawaiian: lele
Hebrew: טס (he) ( tas ) , עף (he) ( 'af )
Higaonon: layang
Hindi: उड़ना (hi) ( uṛnā )
Hungarian: repül (hu) , száll (hu)
Icelandic: fljúga (is)
Ido: flugar (io)
Ilocano: tumayab
Indonesian: terbang (id)
Interlingua: volar
Inuktitut:
Inuttut: tingik , pikik ( birds ) , tingijok ( in an airplane )
Irish: eitil
Italian: volare (it)
Japanese: 飛ぶ (ja) ( とぶ, tobu )
Javanese: miber (jv) , mabur (jv) , kabur (jv)
Kapampangan: sulapo
Kashubian: latac impf
Kazakh: ұшу (kk) ( ūşu )
Khakas: учуғарға ( uçuğarğa )
Khmer: ហោះ (km) ( hɑh ) ( aircraft ) , ហើរ (km) ( haə ) ( birds, insects )
Komi-Permyak: лэбны ( lebny )
Korean: 날다 (ko) ( nalda )
Kurdish:
Central Kurdish: فْڕین (ckb) ( firrîn )
Northern Kurdish: firîn (ku) , firrîn (ku)
Kyrgyz: учуу (ky) ( ucuu )
Lao: ເຫາະ ( hǫ )
Latgalian: skrīt , skraideit
Latin: volō (la)
Latvian: lidot (lv)
Lithuanian: skristi (lt) , skraidyti
Lombard: volà (lmo)
Low German:
German Low German: flegen (nds)
Macedonian: лета impf ( leta )
Madurese: ngabber
Malay:
Jawi: تربڠ
Rumi: terbang (ms)
Maltese: tar
Manchu: ᡩᡝᠶᡝᠮᠪᡳ ( deyembi )
Mansaka: layog
Maori: rere
Maranao: layog
Marathi: उडणे (mr) ( uḍṇe )
Muong: păl
Nahuatl:
Classical: patlāni
Mecayapan: pata̱ni
Nanai: дэгдэ- ( degde- )
Navajo: bił yitʼah
Ngazidja Comorian: huyeuha
Ngunawal: yerra
Norman: voler
North Frisian: ( Mooring ) fliinj , ( Föhr-Amrum ) flä
Norwegian:
Bokmål: fly (no) , flyge (no)
Nynorsk: fly , flyge
Occitan: volar (oc)
Old Church Slavonic: ( abstract ) лѣтати impf ( lětati ) , ( concrete ) летѣти impf ( letěti )
Old English: flēogan
Old Frisian: fliāga
Old Javanese: wur , wőr , hibĕr
Ottoman Turkish: اوچمق ( uçmak )
Papiamentu: bula
Pashto: الوتل (ps) ( alwatəl )
Persian: پرواز کردن (fa) ( parvâz kardan ) , پریدن (fa) ( paridan )
Piedmontese: volé
Pipil: patani
Pitjantjatjara: parpakaṉi
Polish: latać (pl) impf ( abstract ) , lecieć (pl) impf ( concrete )
Portuguese: voar (pt)
Quechua: phaway , pawai , paarii
Rapa Nui: rere
Rohingya: uro
Romani: ural
Romanian: zbura (ro)
Romansch: sgular , svular , svuler
Russian: лета́ть (ru) impf ( letátʹ ) ( abstract ) , лете́ть (ru) impf ( letétʹ ) ( concrete ) , перелета́ть (ru) impf ( pereletátʹ ) ( birds )
Saho: fire
Sardinian: bobai , bolare , bolai , volare , borai
Scottish Gaelic: itealaich , dèan iteag , falbh air iteig
Serbo-Croatian: letiti (sh)
Cyrillic: лѐтети impf , лѐтјети impf ( concrete )
Roman: lèteti (sh) impf , lètjeti (sh) impf ( concrete )
Sherpa: འཕུར ( 'phur )
Sicilian: vulari (scn)
Sinhalese: ඉගිල්ලෙනවා ( igillenawā )
Slovak: lietať impf ( abstract ) , letieť impf ( concrete )
Slovene: leteti (sl) impf ( concrete )
Somali: duulid
Sorbian:
Lower Sorbian: ( abstract ) lětaś impf , ( concrete ) leśeś impf
Upper Sorbian: ( abstract ) lětać impf , ( concrete ) lećeć impf
Spanish: volar (es)
Sundanese: hiber (su) , ngapung
Swahili: kuruka
Swedish: flyga (sv)
Tagalog: lipad (tl) , lumipad
Tajik: паридан (tg) ( paridan ) , парвоз кардан ( parvoz kardan )
Tamil: பற (ta) ( paṟa )
Tarantino: vulà
Tausug: lupad
Ternate: soro
Tetum: semo
Thai: บิน (th) ( bin )
Tibetan: འཕུར ( 'phur )
Tocharian B: plu-
Turkish: ( aircraft ) gitmek (tr) , uçmak (tr) , kanatlanmak (tr)
Turkmen: uçmak
Udmurt: лобыны ( lobyny )
Ukrainian: літа́ти (uk) impf ( litáty ) ( abstract ) , леті́ти impf ( letíty ) ( concrete )
Urdu: اڑنا ( uṛnā )
Uyghur: ئۇچماق ( uchmaq )
Uzbek: uchmoq (uz)
Venetian: zolàre , svołar , sgołar , sguołar , xolar
Vietnamese: bay (vi)
Volapük: flitön (vo)
Walloon: voler (wa)
Waray-Waray: lupad , lagbaw ( Eastern Samar )
Welsh: hedfan (cy)
West Frisian: fleane (fy)
Yagnobi: фурак ( furak )
Yakut: көт ( köt )
Yiddish: פֿליִען ( flien )
Zazaki: tılo bıyen , perayen
Zealandic: vliege
to cause to travel through the air
Catalan: pilotar (ca)
Dutch: besturen (nl) ( aircraft )
Esperanto: flugigi
Finnish: lentää (fi) , ohjata (fi) , lennättää (fi)
French: piloter (fr) ( aircraft ) , faire voler ( kite )
Galician: facer voar
German: fahren (de) ( zeppelin, balloon ) , fliegen (de) ( airplane ) , fliegen lassen ( toys etc. )
Hebrew: הטיס (he) ( hetís )
Hungarian: repít (hu)
Ido: aviacar (io)
Japanese: 飛ばす (ja) ( とばす, tobasu )
Malay: menerbangkan
Maori: whakaangi ( a kite ) , whakaturuturu ( a kite ) , whakarere ( aeroplane ) , whakatere ( an aeroplane ) , whakatare ( a flag )
Marathi: उडवणे ( uḍavṇe )
Pashto: الوتل (ps) ( alwatəl )
Portuguese: fazer voar
Romanian: înălța (ro)
Russian: вести́ (ru) ( vestí ) ( flying vehicle, especially airplane ) , транспорти́ровать (ru) ( transportírovatʹ ) , носи́ть (ru) ( nosítʹ ) , приноси́ть (ru) ( prinosítʹ ) , переноси́ть (ru) ( perenosítʹ ) , переправля́ть (ru) ( perepravljátʹ ) ( to transport by air ) , пуска́ть (ru) ( puskátʹ ) ( something light such as a kite; literally: to let go )
Serbo-Croatian: poletjeti (sh)
Spanish: volar (es) , hacer volar , ir volando
Swahili: kurusha
Swedish: flyga (sv)
Telugu: ఎగరవేయు ( egaravēyu )
Tibetan: བཏང ( btang )
Turkish: ( aircraft ) gitmek (tr) , uçmak (tr) , ( balloon ) seyahat etmek (tr) , uçurmak (tr)
Zazaki: peren c pl , şıyen
to travel very fast, to hasten
to move suddenly with violence
to display a flag from a flagpole
Translations to be checked
Noun
fly (plural flys or flies )
( obsolete ) The action of flying ; flight .
An act of flying .
There was a good wind, so I decided to give the kite a fly .
( baseball ) A fly ball .
( American football ) Short for fly route .
A piece of canvas that covers the opening at the front of a tent .
( India , obsolete ) The sloping or roof part of the canvas of a tent.
1810 , Thomas H. Williamson, The East India Vade-Mecum , page 452 :[T]he main part of the operation of pitching the tent, consisting of raising the flies , may be performed, and shelter afforded, without the walls, &c., being present.
1816 , The Grand Master, or Adventures of Qui Hi , page 152 :The cavalcade drew up in line, / Pitch'd the marquee, and went to dine. / The bearers and the servants lie / Under the shelter of the fly .
1885 , Elizabeth Bacon Custer, Boots and Saddles :After I had changed my riding-habit for my one other gown, I came out to join the general under the tent-fly .
( often plural ) A strip of material (sometimes hiding zippers or buttons) at the front of a pair of trousers , pants , underpants , bootees , etc.
Ha-ha! Your flies are undone!
February 2014 Y-Front Fly
Y-Front is a registered trademark for a special front fly turned upside down to form a Y owned by Jockey® International. The first Y-Front® brief was created by Jockey® more than 70 years ago.
June 2014 The Hole In Men’s Underwear: Name And Purpose
Briefs were given an opening in the front. The point of this opening (the ‘fly ’) was to make it easier to pee with clothes on
The free edge of a flag .
The horizontal length of a flag.
( weightlifting ) An exercise that involves wide opening and closing of the arms perpendicular to the shoulders.
The part of a vane pointing the direction from which the wind blows.
( nautical ) That part of a compass on which the points are marked; the compass card .
a. 1850 , Robert Norman, (Please provide the book title or journal name) :to the fly of the compass , which before was made equal, I was still constrained to put some small piece of wire on the south part there
Two or more vanes set on a revolving axis , to act as a fanner , or to equalize or impede the motion of machinery by the resistance of the air, as in the striking part of a clock.
Short for flywheel .
( historical ) A type of small, light, fast horse-drawn carriage that can be hired for transportation (sometimes pluralised flys ).
1859 , Wilkie Collins, The Woman in White :Can I get a fly , or a carriage of any kind? Is it too late? I dismissed the fly a mile distant from the park, and getting my directions from the driver, proceeded by myself to the house.
1861 , Henry Mayhew, William Tuckniss, London Labour and the London Poor: A Cyclopœdia of the Condition and Earnings of Those that Will Work, Those that Cannot Work, and Those that Will Not Work , volume 3, page 359 :A glass coach, it may be as well to observe, is a carriage and pair hired by the day, and a fly a one-horse carriage hired in a similar manner.
1918 , W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell , chapter XVI, in The Mirror and the Lamp , Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company , →OCLC :“ [ …] She takes the whole thing with desperate seriousness. But the others are all easy and jovial—thinking about the good fare that is soon to be eaten, about the hired fly , about anything.”
1924 , Ford Madox Ford , Some Do Not… (Parade's End), Penguin, published 2012 , page 54 :And, driving back in the fly , Macmaster said to himself that you couldn't call Mrs. Duchemin ordinary, at least.
1941 December, “Notes and News: Timetable features of the Past”, in Railway Magazine , page 570 :Then we read at New Southgate and Colney Hatch, that "Cabs are on stand at station from 9 a.m. to departure of last down train. Private omnibuses, flys and other conveniences can be had at short notice on application to Messrs. Walker & Son." At country stations we are often told, "a fly may be obtained on application to Mrs. Brown of the Black Dog," or some other cheery information.
2023 February 22, Stephen Roberts, “Reading... between the lines... to Wales”, in RAIL , number 977 , page 59 :Chepstow is good for excursions, and Bradshaw tells me I can get a fly to Tintern Abbey, although the fare structure seems particularly complicated. Alternatively, I could go for a simpler choice and just opt for "single horse, 1s", although I doubt I'd survive to tell the tale.
Related terms: flyman
In a knitting machine, the piece hinged to the needle, which holds the engaged loop in position while the needle is penetrating another loop; a latch .
The pair of arms revolving around the bobbin , in a spinning wheel or spinning frame , to twist the yarn .
( weaving ) A shuttle driven through the shed by a blow or jerk.
( printing , historical ) The person who took the printed sheets from the press .
( printing , historical ) A vibrating frame with fingers, attached to a power printing press for doing the same work.
One of the upper screens of a stage in a theatre.
( cotton manufacture ) waste cotton
Derived terms
Translations
type of small, fast carriage
piece of canvas that covers the opening of a tent
strip that hides the opening of trousers/pants or underpants
Bulgarian: дюкян (bg) m ( djukjan ) , шлиц (bg) m ( šlic )
Catalan: bragueta (ca) f
Chinese:
Mandarin: 褲子 的 拉鏈 / 裤子 的 拉链 ( kùzi de lāliàn ) , 褲門 / 裤门 ( kùmén ) ( slang )
Czech: poklopec (cs) m
Danish: gylp c
Dutch: gulp (nl) f
Esperanto: please add this translation if you can
Estonian: please add this translation if you can
Faroese: splitta
Finnish: sepalus (fi)
French: braguette (fr) f
German: Hosenschlitz (de) m
Greek: πατ (el) n ( pat )
Hungarian: slicc (hu)
Icelandic: rennilás m
Irish: plapa m , cailpís f
Italian: brachetta f , braghetta f , bottega (it) f
Japanese: 社会の窓 ( shakai no mado ) ( slang ) , ボタン隠し ( botan kakushi ) ( button ) , ファスナー隠し ( fasunā kakushi ) ( zipper ) , フライ (ja) ( furai )
Latvian: please add this translation if you can
Lithuanian: klynas m
Mongolian: please add this translation if you can
Norwegian: glidelås (no) m , gylf (no) m
Polish: rozporek (pl) m
Portuguese: braguilha (pt) f , zíper (pt) m
Romanian: fermoar (ro) n , șliț (ro) n
Russian: шири́нка (ru) f ( širínka ) , мотня́ (ru) f ( motnjá ) ( slang )
Scottish Gaelic: spaidhir f
Serbo-Croatian:
Cyrillic: шлиц m
Roman: šlic (sh) m
Skolt Sami: brålleǩ
Spanish: bragueta (es) f
Swedish: gylf (sv) c
Turkish: patlet , dükkân (tr)
Welsh: balog m or f ( North ) , copish m ( South )
horizontal length of a flag
Verb
fly (third-person singular simple present flies , present participle flying , simple past and past participle flied )
( intransitive , baseball ) To hit a fly ball ; to hit a fly ball that is caught for an out. Compare ground (verb) and line (verb).
Jones flied to right in his last at-bat.
Translations
Etymology 3
Uncertain; probably from the verb or noun.
Adjective
fly (comparative flier or flyer , superlative fliest or flyest )
( slang , dated ) Quick-witted , alert , mentally sharp .
1854 , Charles Dickens, “Household Words”, in Arcadia , volume 7, page 381 :be assured, O man of sin—pilferer of small wares and petty larcener—that there is an eye within keenly glancing from some loophole contrived between accordions and tin breastplates that watches your every movement, and is "fly ,"— to use a term peculiarly comprehensible to dishonest minds—to the slightest gesture of illegal conveyancing.
( slang ) Well dressed , smart in appearance; in style, cool .
He's pretty fly .
1888 , Frederick Thickstun Clark, A Mexican Girl , page 270 :when Ortega got fixed up in his fly duds like that, an ord'nary man's overcoat wouldn't make 'im a pair o' socks.
1998 , “Pretty Fly (For a White Guy)” performed by The Offspring:Give it to me, baby! Uh huh, uh huh! And all the girlies say, I’m pretty fly for a white guy.
2001 September, “Super Fly”, in Vibe , volume 9, number 9, page 252 :Starring the light-skinned Ron O'Neal with his shoulder-length perm and fly threads, Super Fly exudes a sense of black pride as O'Neal bucks the dope game, dismisses his white girlfriend, and beats The Man at his own hustle.
2006 , Noire , Thug-A-Licious: An Urban Erotic Tale , New York, N.Y.: One World , Ballantine Books , →ISBN , page 169 :A fly sister rolled in with a suitcase full of hip-hop novels called The Glamorous Life , and an African brother with long dreads wanted to sell them some incense and some fake Jacob watches.
2012 , Lindy West, Dan Savage, Christopher Frizzelle, How to Be a Person: The Stranger's Guide to College, Sex, Intoxicants, Tacos, and Life Itself :How NOT to Facebook / [ …] no naked pictures, no deep emotions (awkward), no tagging a bunch of people in a picture of some fly Nikes, no making dinner plans (just use a PHONE).
2013 , Louisa Jepson, “‘At the moment it appears I have, like 7000 girlfriends’”, in Harry Styles: Every Piece of Me , London: Simon & Schuster UK Ltd , published 2014 , →ISBN , page 209 :Harry [Styles] and Grimmy had struck up quite a friendship with Rita [Ora] and a few weeks earlier had been seen at G-A-Y for her album launch. She tweeted a picture of the trio saying: ‘Thanks for coming my little fashionistas. Looking flyer than a mofo.’
2019 , “Balenciaga”, performed by Princess Nokia:I'm so fly , I don't even try / I get so high, I can touch the sky / Dress for myself, I don't dress for hype / I dress for myself, you dress for the likes
( slang ) Beautiful ; displaying physical beauty.
1979 , “We Rap More Mellow”, performed by The Younger Generation:[Rahiem ] My name brings peace and tranquility / So all the fly ladies' hearts can run free
1991 , “Busy Doin Nuthin”, in I Need a Haircut , performed by Biz Markie:Word is bond she looked divine, she looked as fly as can be I thought she was different cause she was by herself She looked real wholesome, and in good physical health
1994 , “Memory Lane (Sittin’ in da Park)”, in Illmatic , performed by Nas:I rap for listeners, blunt heads, fly ladies and prisoners
Derived terms
Translations
Etymology 4
Related to German Flügel ( “ a wing ” ) , Dutch vleugel ( “ a wing ” ) , Swedish flygel ( “ a wing ” ) .
Noun
fly (plural flies )
( rustic , Scotland , Northern England ) A wing .
The bullet barely grazed the wild fowl's fly .
References
^ Edward H[enry] Knight (1877 ) “Fly”, in Knight’s American Mechanical Dictionary. , volumes I (A–GAS), New York, N.Y.: Hurd and Houghton , →OCLC .
^ Edward H[enry] Knight (1877 ) “Fly”, in Knight’s American Mechanical Dictionary. , volumes I (A–GAS), New York, N.Y.: Hurd and Houghton , →OCLC .
Danish
Pronunciation
Etymology 1
An abbreviation of flyvemaskine , after Norwegian fly and Swedish flyg .
Noun
fly n (singular definite flyet , plural indefinite fly )
airplane , aeroplane
Synonyms: flyvemaskine , flyver
Hypernym: luftfartøj
Inflection
Derived terms
Etymology 2
From Old Norse flýja ( “ to flee ” ) , from Proto-Germanic *fleuhaną , cognate with English flee , German fliehen , Dutch vlieden .
Verb
fly (present flyr or flyer , past tense flyede , past participle flyet )
( archaic ) to flee
( archaic ) to shun
Conjugation
Etymology 3
From Middle Low German vlī(g)en ( “ to stack, sort out ” ) , cognate with Dutch vlijen ( “ to place ” ) , from Proto-Germanic *flīhan , of unknown ultimate origin; possibly related to the root of *flaihijan ( “ to be sly, to flatter ” ) , though the semantic gap is wide.
Verb
fly (present flyr or flyer , past tense flyede , past participle flyet )
( archaic ) to hand , give
Conjugation
References
Norwegian Bokmål
Pronunciation
Etymology 1
Short form of flygemaskin
Noun
fly n (definite singular flyet , indefinite plural fly , definite plural flya or flyene )
plane , aeroplane (UK), airplane (US), aircraft
Derived terms
Etymology 2
From Old Norse fljúga .
Alternative forms
Verb
fly (imperative fly , present tense flyr , simple past fløy , past participle flydd or fløyet )
to fly
Derived terms
References
“fly” in The Bokmål Dictionary .
Norwegian Nynorsk
Pronunciation
Etymology 1
Clipping of flygemaskin ( “ flying machine ” ) .
Noun
fly n (definite singular flyet , indefinite plural fly , definite plural flya )
plane , aeroplane (UK), airplane (US), aircraft
Skunda deg, elles misser du flyet ditt! Hurry up, or you'll miss your plane !
Derived terms
Etymology 2
From Old Norse fljúga , from Proto-Germanic *fleuganą .
Alternative forms
Verb
fly (present tense flyr or flyg , past tense flaug , supine floge , past participle flogen , present participle flygande , imperative fly or flyg )
( intransitive ) to fly (to travel through air , another gas or a vacuum , without being in contact with a grounded surface)
( transitive , ergative ) to cause to fly : to transport via air or the like
( intransitive ) to run , move fast
( intransitive , chiefly about farm animals) to be in heat , rutting
Derived terms
Related terms
Adjective
fly (masculine and feminine fly , neuter flytt , definite singular and plural flye , comparative flyare , indefinite superlative flyast , definite superlative flyaste )
very steep
Noun
fly n (definite singular flyet , indefinite plural fly , definite plural flya )
a very steep cliff
Etymology 3
From Old Norse flýja , from Proto-Germanic *fleuhaną .
Verb
fly (present tense flyr , past tense flydde , past participle flytt /flydd , passive infinitive flyast , present participle flyande , imperative fly )
( intransitive ) to escape ; flee ; run away
Synonym: flykte
( transitive ) to escape from
Etymology 4
Clipping of flygande ( “ flying ” ) , present participle of fly .
Adverb
fly
( colloquial ) Used as an intensifier for the word forbanna
Han vart fly forbanna. (please add an English translation of this usage example)
Etymology 5
Compare with flye n ( “ flying insect ” ) and English fly .
Noun
fly f (definite singular flya , indefinite plural flyer , definite plural flyene )
small (flying ) insect
( fishing ) bait
Etymology 6
Noun
fly f (definite singular flya , indefinite plural flyer , definite plural flyene )
specks
Synonyms: rusk , grann
Etymology 7
Noun
fly f (definite singular flya , indefinite plural flyer , definite plural flyene )
mountain plateau
Synonyms: vidde , fjellvidde
Etymology 8
Uncertain, though may be related to flyta ( “ to float ” ) .
Noun
fly n (definite singular flyet , indefinite plural fly , definite plural flya )
sump
Etymology 9
Related to, or possibly a doublet of flø , from Old Norse flór .
Adjective
fly (masculine and feminine fly , neuter flytt , definite singular and plural flye , comparative flyare , indefinite superlative flyast , definite superlative flyaste )
tepid
References
“fly” in The Nynorsk Dictionary .
Ivar Aasen (1850 ) “fly”, in Ordbog over det norske Folkesprog (in Danish), Oslo: Samlaget , published 2000
Anagrams
Scots
Adjective
fly
( slang , chiefly Doric) sneaky
2013 November 12, Charley Buchan, Karen Barrett-Ayres, “A Fly Cup”, in Doric Voices , Robert Gordon University, archived from the original on 6 May 2018 :Noo then, fa's for a fly cup? Now then, who's for a sneaky cup?
Swedish
Etymology
From Old Swedish flȳia , flȳa , from Old Norse flýja , from Proto-Germanic *fleuhaną .
Pronunciation
Verb
fly (present flyr , preterite flydde , supine flytt , imperative fly )
to flee , to run away , to escape
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.
to pass , to go by (of time)
1964 , Gunnel Vallquist, title of the new Swedish translation of Proust's À la recherche du temps perdu :På spaning efter den tid som flytt In Search of Lost Time
1965 , Sven-Ingvars , Börja om från början :Varför ska man sörja tider som har flytt ? Why should one feel sorry for times that have passed ?
Conjugation
Conjugation of fly (weak)
Derived terms
Related terms
See also
References