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flying

 [flahy-ing]   Origin

fly·ing

   [flahy-ing]
adjective
1.
making flight or passing through the air; that flies: a flying insect; an unidentified flying object.
2.
floating, fluttering, waving, hanging, or moving freely in the air: flying banners; flying hair.
3.
extending through the air.
4.
moving swiftly.
5.
made while moving swiftly: a flying leap.
EXPAND
6.
very hasty or brief; fleeting or transitory: a flying visit; a flying remark.
7.
designed or organized for swift movement or action.
8.
fleeing, running away, or taking flight: They pursued the flying enemy.
9.
Nautical. (of a sail) having none of its edges fastened to spars or stays.
COLLAPSE
noun
10.
the act of moving through the air on wings; flight.

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Flying is always a great word to know.
So is slumgullion. Does it mean:
a screen or mat covered with a dark material for shielding a camera lens from excess light or glare.
a stew of meat, vegetables, potatoes, etc.
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adverb
11.
Nautical. without being fastened to a yard, stay, or the like: a sail set flying.
Origin:
before 1000; Middle English (noun); Old English flēogende (adj.). See fly1, -ing2, -ing1

Related forms
non·fly·ing, adjective
un·fly·ing, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged

fly

1   [flahy] verb, flew or, for 11, 19, flied, flown, fly·ing, noun, plural flies.
verb (used without object)
1.
to move through the air using wings.
2.
to be carried through the air by the wind or any other force or agency: bits of paper flying about.
3.
to float or flutter in the air: flags flying in the breeze.
4.
to travel in an aircraft or spacecraft.
5.
to move suddenly and quickly; start unexpectedly: He flew from the room.
EXPAND
6.
to change rapidly and unexpectedly from one state or position to another: The door flew open.
7.
to flee; escape.
8.
to travel in space: The probe will fly past the planet.
9.
to move or pass swiftly: How time flies!
10.
to move with an aggressive surge: A mother fox will fly at anyone approaching her kits.
11.
Baseball.
a.
to bat a fly ball: He flied into right field.
b.
to fly out.
12.
Informal. to be acceptable, believable, or feasible: It seemed like a good idea, but it just wouldn't fly.
COLLAPSE
verb (used with object)
13.
to make (something) float or move through the air: to fly a kite.
14.
to operate (an aircraft, spacecraft, or the like).
15.
to hoist aloft, as for display, signaling, etc.: to fly a flag.
16.
to operate an aircraft or spacecraft over: to fly the Pacific.
17.
to transport or convey by air: We fly merchandise to Boston.
EXPAND
18.
to escape from; flee: to fly someone's wrath.
19.
Theater.
a.
to hang (scenery) above a stage by means of rigging supported by the gridiron.
b.
to raise (scenery) from the stage or acting area into the flies.
COLLAPSE
noun
20.
a strip of material sewn along one edge of a garment opening for concealing buttons, zippers, or other fasteners.
21.
a flap forming the door of a tent.
22.
Also called tent fly. a piece of canvas extending over the ridgepole of a tent and forming an outer roof.
23.
an act of flying; a flight.
24.
the course of a flying object, as a ball.
EXPAND
25.
Baseball. fly ball.
26.
British. a light, covered, public carriage drawn by one horse; hansom; hackney coach.
27.
Machinery. a horizontal arm, weighted at each end, that pivots about the screw of a press so that when the screw is lowered the momentum of the fly will increase the force of the press.
28.
Also called fan. Horology. a regulating device for chime and striking mechanisms, consisting of an arrangement of vanes on a revolving axis.
29.
Printing.
a.
(in some presses) the apparatus for removing the printed sheets to the delivery table.
b.
Also called flyboy. (formerly) a printer's devil employed to remove printed sheets from a press.
30.
(on a flag)
a.
the horizontal dimension of a flag as flown from a vertical staff.
b.
the end of the flag farther from the staff. Compare hoist (def. 7).
31.
flies. Also called fly loft. Theater. the space above the stage used chiefly for storing scenery and equipment.
32.
Nautical. a propellerlike device streamed to rotate and transfer information on speed to a mechanical log.
COLLAPSE
Verb phrase
33.
fly out, Baseball, Softball. to be put out by hitting a fly ball that is caught by a player of the opposing team.
Idioms
34.
fly blind. blind (def. 33).
35.
fly in the face of, to act in defiance of (authority, custom, etc.). Also, fly in the teeth of.
36.
fly off the handle. handle (def. 16).
37.
go fly a kite, Slang.
a.
to put up with or get used to matters as they stand.
b.
to confine oneself to one's own affairs.
c.
to cease being a nuisance: If she gets mad enough she'll tell me to go fly a kite.
38.
let fly,
a.
to hurl or propel (a weapon, missile, etc.).
b.
to give free rein to an emotion: She let fly with a barrage of angry words.
EXPAND
39.
on the fly,
a.
during flight; before falling to the ground: to catch a baseball on the fly.
b.
hurriedly; without pausing: We had dinner on the fly.
COLLAPSE
Origin:
before 900; Middle English flīen, Old English flēogan; cognate with Old High German fliogan, German fliegen, Old Norse fljuga

Related forms
fly·a·ble, adjective
fly·a·bil·i·ty, noun
non·fly·a·ble, adjective
re·fly·a·ble, adjective
un·fly·a·ble, adjective

Synonyms
1. Fly, flit, flutter, hover, soar refer to moving through the air as on wings. Fly is the general term: Birds fly. Airplanes fly. To flit is to make short rapid flights from place to place: A bird flits from tree to tree. To flutter is to agitate the wings tremulously, either without flying or in flying only short distances: A young bird flutters out of a nest and in again. To hover is to linger in the air, or to move over or about something within a narrow area or space: hovering clouds; a hummingbird hovering over a blossom. To soar is to (start to) fly upward to a great height usually with little advance in any other direction, or else to (continue to) fly at a lofty height without visible movement of the wings: Above our heads an eagle was soaring.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To flying
Collins
World English Dictionary
flying (ˈflaɪɪŋ)
 
—adj
1.  (prenominal) hurried; fleeting: a flying visit
2.  (prenominal) designed for fast action
3.  (prenominal) moving or passing quickly on or as if on wings: a flying leap; the flying hours
4.  hanging, waving, or floating freely: flying hair
5.  nautical (of a sail) not hauled in tight against the wind
 
—n
6.  the act of piloting, navigating, or travelling in an aircraft
7.  (modifier) relating to, capable of, accustomed to, or adapted for flight: a flying machine
 
Related: volant

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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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

fly
"run away," O.E. fleon (see flee). Fleogan and fleon were often confused in O.E., too. Mod.Eng. distinguishes in preterite: flew/fled.
EXPAND

flying
O.E. fleogende, prp. of fly (v.1). Flying buttress is from 1660s; flying fish is from 1510s. Flying saucer first attested 1947, though the image of saucers for unidentified flying objects is from at least 1880s. Flying Dutchman ghost ship first recorded c.1830, in Jeffrey, Baron
de Reigersfeld's "The Life of a Sea Officer." Flying colors (1706) probably is from the image of a naval vessel with the national flag bravely displayed.
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Medical Dictionary

fly (flī)
n.
Any of numerous two-winged insects of the order Diptera.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Science Dictionary
fly   (flī)  Pronunciation Key 
Any of numerous insects of the order Diptera, having one pair of wings and large compound eyes. Flies include the houseflies, horseflies, and mosquitoes. See more at dipteran.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Slang Dictionary

fly definition


  1. mod.
    knowledgeable; alert and in the know. : This dude is fly; there's no question about it.
  2. mod.
    nice-looking; stylish. : I like your fly shoes, Sam.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
Cite This Source
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia

flying

in animals, locomotion of either of two basic types-powered, or true, flight and gliding. Winged (true) flight is found only in insects (most orders), most birds, and bats. The evolutionary modifications necessary for true flight in warm-blooded animals include those of the forelimbs into wings; lightening and fusion of bones; shortening of the torso; enlargement of the heart and thoracic muscles; and improved vision. Similar modifications in insects have occurred through different evolutionary pathways. The advantages conferred by flight are also great: in terms of numbers of species as well as numbers of individuals, insects, birds, and bats are among the most successful animal groups

Learn more about flying with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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