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fly

Pronunciation: /flaɪ/

The English word “fly” has 20 meanings listed here.

noun

  1. Any insect of the order Diptera; characterized by having two wings (except for some wingless species), also called true flies.
  2. Especially, any of the insects of the family Muscidae, such as the common housefly (other families of Diptera include mosquitoes and midges).
  3. Those or any similar but not closely related insect, such as a dragonfly, butterfly, or gallfly.
  4. A lightweight fishing lure resembling an insect.
  5. A chest exercise performed by moving extended arms from the sides to in front of the chest. (also flye)
  6. The butterfly stroke (plural is normally flys).
  7. A witch's familiar.
  8. A parasite.
  9. A simple dance in which the hands are shaken in the air, popular in the 1960s.
  10. A butterfly (combination of four options).

verb

  1. To travel through the air, another gas, or a vacuum, without being in contact with a grounded surface.
  2. To take a flight on a plane; to pilot or crew a plane.
  3. To be in the winged adult stage.
  4. To be accepted, come about or work out.
  5. To cause to fly (travel or float in the air): to transport via air or the like.
  6. To arrange for someone to take a flight.
  7. To pilot a plane over a region or on a route.
  8. To complete (a goal, task, mission, etc.) while crewing an aircraft or spacecraft.
  9. To hunt with a hawk.
  10. To wave or flutter; to cause to wave or flutter.

Etymology

From Middle English fflye, flehe, flei, fleie, fley, fleye, fleȝe, flie, fliȝe, flye, vliȝe, vlye, from Old English flēge, flēoge, flīeġe (“a fly”), from Proto-West Germanic *fleugā, from Proto-Germanic *fleugǭ (“a fly”), from Proto-Indo-European *plewk- (“to flow, fly, run; to splash”), enlargement of *plew- (“to flow, fly, run”). Cognates Cognate with Scots flee, flei (“fly”), North Frisian…

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