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Webster 1913 Edition

Fledge

Fledge

,
Adj.
[OE.
flegge
,
flygge
; akin to D.
vlug
, G.
flügge
,
flücke
, OHG.
flucchi
, Icel.
fleygr
, and to E.
fly
. √84. See
Fly
,
Verb.
I.
]
Feathered; furnished with feathers or wings; able to fly.
His shoulders,
fledge
with wings.
Milton.

Fledge

,
Verb.
T.
&
I.
[
imp. & p. p.
Fledged
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Fledging
.]
1.
To furnish with feathers; to supply with the feathers necessary for flight.
The birds were not as yet
fledged
enough to shift for themselves.
L’Estrange.
2.
To furnish or adorn with any soft covering.
Your master, whose chin is not yet
fledged
.
Shakespeare
2.
A young bird just fledged.
[wns=2]

Webster 1828 Edition

Fledge

FLEDGE

,
Adj.
flej.
Feathered; furnished with fethers or wings; able to fly.
His locks behind, illustrious on his shoulders, fledge with wings, lay waving round.

FLEDGE

,
Verb.
T.
To furnish with fethers; to supply with the fethers necessary for flight.
The birds were not yet fledged enough to shift for themselves.

Definition 2024

fledge

fledge

English

Alternative forms

Verb

fledge ‎(third-person singular simple present fledges, present participle fledging, simple past and past participle fledged)

  1. (transitive) To care for a young bird until it is capable of flight.
  2. (intransitive) To grow, cover or be covered with feathers.
  3. (transitive) To decorate with feathers.
  4. (intransitive) To complete the last moult and become a winged adult insect.

Related terms

Adjective

fledge ‎(not comparable)

  1. (archaic) Feathered; furnished with feathers or wings; able to fly.
    • Milton
      his shoulders, fledge with wings

Etymology

From Middle English flegge, fligge, flygge, from Old English *flycge ‎(“able to fly, fledged”) (attested in *unflycge, unfligge ‎(“unfledged”)), from Proto-Germanic *flugjaz ‎(“able to fly, fledged”), from Proto-Indo-European *plewk- ‎(“to run, flow, be swift, flee, fly”).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /flɛdʒ/
  • Rhymes: -ɛdʒ

Similar Results