Nearby Words
verb (used with object)
1.
to bring up (a young bird) until it is able to fly.
2.
to furnish with or as if with feathers or plumage.
3.
to provide (an arrow) with feathers.
verb (used without object)
4.
(of a young bird) to acquire the feathers necessary for flight.
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Fledge
is one of our favorite verbs.
So is bowdlerise. Does it mean:
| to spend time idly; loaf. |
| to expurgate (a written work) by removing or modifying passages considered vulgar or objectionable. |
adjective
5.
Archaic. (of young birds) able to fly.
Origin:
1350–1400; Middle English flegge (fully-)fledged, Old English *flecge, as variant of -flycge; cognate with Old High German flucki, Middle Low German vlügge (> German flügge); akin to fly1
1350–1400; Middle English flegge (fully-)fledged, Old English *flecge, as variant of -flycge; cognate with Old High German flucki, Middle Low German vlügge (> German flügge); akin to fly1
Related forms
fledge·less, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Link To fledge
Collins
World English Dictionary
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History
fledge
O.E. flycge (Kentish fligge), from W.Gmc. *fluggja- (cf. M.Du. vlugge, Low Ger. flügge). Originally an adj. meaning "having the feathers, fit to fly." As a verb, it is first attested in English 1560s. Related: Fledged; fledging.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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