fledge
Use Fledge in a sentence
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.
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. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To fledge
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Fledge
is one of our favorite verbs.
So is bowdlerise. Does it mean:
| to flee; abscond: |
| to expurgate (a written work) by removing or modifying passages considered vulgar or objectionable. |
Collins
World English Dictionary
fledge (flɛdʒ) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —vb | |
| 1. | (tr) to feed and care for (a young bird) until it is able to fly |
| 2. | (tr) Also called: fletch to fit (something, esp an arrow) with a feather or feathers |
| 3. | (intr) (of a young bird) to grow feathers |
| 4. | (tr) to cover or adorn with or as if with feathers |
| [Old English -flycge, as in unflycge unfledged; related to Old High German flucki able to fly; see | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
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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Example sentences
Feather development won't be complete until after they fledge and the eaglets may actually continue to gain weight.
Both parents care for the nestlings, which fledge in three to four weeks.
Both adults participate in incubation of eggs, brooding of chicks, and care of juveniles after they fledge.
These closures are temporary, and will last only until plover broods fledge or move a safe distance from vehicle access points.
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