fly

Etymology 1

table 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

1. (zoology) Any insect of the order Diptera; characterized by having two wings (except for some wingless species), also called true flies.
   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. 2012-01, Douglas Larson, “Runaway Devils Lake”, in American Scientist, volume 100, number 1, page 46
2. (non-technical) Especially, any of the insects of the family Muscidae, such as the common housefly (other families of Diptera include mosquitoes and midges).
   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. 1913, Joseph C. Lincoln, chapter 5, in Mr. Pratt's Patients
3. Any similar, but not closely related insect, such as a dragonfly or butterfly.
4. (fishing) A lightweight fishing lure resembling an insect.
   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. 1886, Peter Christen Asbjørnsen, translated by H.L. Brækstad, Folk and Fairy Tales, page 152
5. (weightlifting) A chest exercise performed by moving extended arms from the sides to in front of the chest. (also flye)
6. (swimming) The butterfly stroke (plural is normally flys).
7. (obsolete) A witch's familiar.
8. (obsolete) A parasite.
   The fly that plays too near the flame burns in it. 1636, Philip Massinger, “The Bashful Lover”, in William Gifford, editor, The Plays of Philip Massinger, published 1845, act 1, scene 1, page 470
9. (preceded by definite article) A simple dance in which the hands are shaken in the air, popular in the 1960s.
10. (finance) A butterfly (combination of four options).

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

1. (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.
   Flying using only the power of the sun is an enticing prospect. But manned solar-powered aircraft are fragile and slow, […]. 2013-09-07, “On a bright new wing”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8852
2. (transitive, intransitive, archaic, poetic) To flee, to escape (from).
   Fly, my lord! The enemy are upon us!
   He staggered and fell, grasped vainly at the stone, and slid into the abyss. “Fly, you fools!” he cried, and was gone. 1954, J. R. R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring
3. (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.
   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. 2013-09-07, “On a bright new wing”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8852
   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. 2015, Jeromy Hopgood, Dance Production: Design and Technology, page 44
4. (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?
   Fly, envious Time, till thou run out thy race. 1645, John Milton, On Time
   The dark waves murmured as the ship flew on. 1870, William Cullen Bryant (translator), The Iliad (originally by Homer)
   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. September 18, 2011, Ben Dirs, “Rugby World Cup 2011: England 41-10 Georgia”, in BBC Sport
5. (intransitive) To move suddenly, or with violence; to do an act suddenly or swiftly.
   a door flies open
   a bomb flies apart
6. (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.
7. (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?
8. (transitive, ergative) To display (a flag) on a flagpole.
9. (transitive) To hunt with a hawk.
   We'll fly the partridge, or go rouse the deer. c. 1590, Robert Greene, Friar Bacon and Friar Bungay
10. (intransitive, entomology, of a type of moth or butterfly) To be in the winged adult stage.
    This species flies from late summer until frost.

noun

1. (obsolete) The action of flying; flight.
2. An act of flying.
   There was a good wind, so I decided to give the kite a fly.
3. (baseball) A fly ball.
4. (American football) Short for fly route.
5. A piece of canvas that covers the opening at the front of a tent.
6. (India, obsolete) The sloping or roof part of the canvas of a tent.
   [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. 1810, Thomas H. Williamson, The East India Vade-Mecum, page 452
   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. 1816, The Grand Master, or Adventures of Qui Hi, page 152
   After I had changed my riding-habit for my one other gown, I came out to join the general under the tent-fly. 1885, Elizabeth Bacon Custer, Boots and Saddles
7. (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
8. The free edge of a flag.
9. The horizontal length of a flag.
10. (weightlifting) An exercise that involves wide opening and closing of the arms perpendicular to the shoulders.
11. The part of a vane pointing the direction from which the wind blows.
12. (nautical) That part of a compass on which the points are marked; the compass card.
    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 a. 1850, Robert Norman, (Please provide the book title or journal name)
13. 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.
14. Short for flywheel.
15. (historical) A type of small, light, fast horse-drawn carriage that can be hired for transportation (sometimes pluralised flys).
    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. 1859, Wilkie Collins, The Woman in White
    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. 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
    And, driving back in the fly, Macmaster said to himself that you couldn't call Mrs. Duchemin ordinary, at least. 1924, Ford Madox Ford, Some Do Not… (Parade's End), Penguin, published 2012, page 54
    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. 1941 December, “Notes and News: Timetable features of the Past”, in Railway Magazine, page 570
    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. February 22 2023, Stephen Roberts, “Reading... between the lines... to Wales”, in RAIL, number 977, page 59
16. 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..
17. The pair of arms revolving around the bobbin, in a spinning wheel or spinning frame, to twist the yarn.
18. (weaving) A shuttle driven through the shed by a blow or jerk.
19. (printing, historical) The person who took the printed sheets from the press.
20. (printing, historical) A vibrating frame with fingers, attached to a power printing press for doing the same work.
21. One of the upper screens of a stage in a theatre.
22. (cotton manufacture) waste cotton

verb

1. (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.

Etymology 3

Uncertain; probably from the verb or noun.

adj

1. (slang, dated) Quick-witted, alert, mentally sharp.
   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. 1854, Charles Dickens, “Household Words”, in Arcadia, volume 7, page 381
2. (slang) Well dressed, smart in appearance; in style, cool.
   He's pretty fly.
   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. 1888, Frederick Thickstun Clark, A Mexican Girl, page 270
   Give it to me, baby! Uh huh, uh huh! And all the girlies say, I’m pretty fly for a white guy. 1998, “Pretty Fly (For a White Guy)”performed by The Offspring
   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. September 2001, “Super Fly”, in Vibe, volume 9, number 9, page 252
   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). 2012, Lindy West, Dan Savage, Christopher Frizzelle, How to Be a Person: The Stranger's Guide to College, Sex, Intoxicants, Tacos, and Life Itself
   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 2019, “Balenciaga”, performed by Princess Nokia
3. (slang) Beautiful; displaying physical beauty.
   Rahiem] My name brings peace and tranquility / So all the fly ladies' hearts can run free 1979, “We Rap More Mellow”, performed by The Younger Generation
   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 1991, “Busy Doin Nuthin”, in I Need a Haircut, performed by Biz Markie
   I rap for listeners, blunt heads, fly ladies and prisoners 1994, “Memory Lane (Sittin’ in da Park)”, in Illmatic, performed by Nas

Etymology 4

Related to German Flügel (“a wing”), Dutch vleugel (“a wing”), Swedish flygel (“a wing”).

noun

1. (rural, Scotland, Northern England) A wing.
   The bullet barely grazed the wild fowl's fly.