Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Fly
Fly
,Verb.
T.
1.
To cause to fly or to float in the air, as a bird, a kite, a flag, etc.
The brave black flag I
fly
. W. S. Gilbert.
2.
To fly or flee from; to shun; to avoid.
Sleep
flies
the wretch. Dryden.
To
fly
the favors of so good a king. Shakespeare
3.
To hunt with a hawk.
[Obs.]
Bacon.
To fly a kite
(Com.)
, to raise money on commercial notes.
[Cant or Slang]
Fly
,Noun.
pl.
Flies
(flīz)
. [OE. ]
flie
, flege
, AS. flȳge
, fleóge
, fr. fleógan
to fly; akin to D. vlieg
, OHG. flioga
, G. fliege
, Icel. & Sw. fluga
, Dan. flue
. √ 84. See Fly
, Verb.
I.
1.
(Zool.)
(a)
Any winged insect; esp., one with transparent wings;
as, the Spanish
. fly
; firefly
; gall fly
; dragon fly
(b)
Any dipterous insect;
as, the house
See fly
; flesh fly
; black fly
. Diptera
, and Illust. in Append. 2.
A hook dressed in imitation of a fly, – used for fishing.
“The fur-wrought fly.” Gay.
3.
A familiar spirit; a witch’s attendant.
[Obs.]
A trifling
fly
, none of your great familiars. B. Jonson.
4.
A parasite.
[Obs.]
Massinger.
5.
A kind of light carriage for rapid transit, plying for hire and usually drawn by one horse.
[Eng.]
6.
The length of an extended flag from its staff; sometimes, the length from the “union” to the extreme end.
7.
The part of a vane pointing the direction from which the wind blows.
8.
(Naut.)
That part of a compass on which the points are marked; the compass card.
Totten.
9.
(Mech.)
(a)
Two or more vanes set on a revolving axis, to act as a fanner, or to equalize or impede the motion of machinery by the resistance of the air, as in the striking part of a clock.
(b)
A heavy wheel, or cross arms with weights at the ends on a revolving axis, to regulate or equalize the motion of machinery by means of its inertia, where the power communicated, or the resistance to be overcome, is variable, as in the steam engine or the coining press. See
Fly wheel
(below). 10.
(Knitting Machine)
The piece hinged to the needle, which holds the engaged loop in position while the needle is penetrating another loop; a latch.
Knight.
11.
The pair of arms revolving around the bobbin, in a spinning wheel or spinning frame, to twist the yarn.
12.
(Weaving)
A shuttle driven through the shed by a blow or jerk.
Knight.
13.
(a)
Formerly, the person who took the printed sheets from the press.
(b)
A vibrating frame with fingers, attached to a power to a power printing press for doing the same work.
14.
The outer canvas of a tent with double top, usually drawn over the ridgepole, but so extended as to touch the roof of the tent at no other place.
15.
One of the upper screens of a stage in a theater.
16.
The fore flap of a bootee; also, a lap on trousers, overcoats, etc., to conceal a row of buttons.
Black fly
, Cheese fly
, Dragon fly, etc.
– Fly agaric
(Bot.)
, a mushroom (
– Agaricus muscarius
), having a narcotic juice which, in sufficient quantities, is poisonous. Fly block
(Naut.)
, a pulley whose position shifts to suit the working of the tackle with which it is connected; – used in the hoisting tackle of yards.
– Fly board
(Printing Press)
, the board on which printed sheets are deposited by the fly.
– Fly book
, a case in the form of a book for anglers' flies.
Kingsley.
– Fly cap
, a cap with wings, formerly worn by women.
– Fly drill
, a drill having a reciprocating motion controlled by a fly wheel, the driving power being applied by the hand through a cord winding in reverse directions upon the spindle as it rotates backward and forward.
Knight.
– Fly fishing
, the act or art of angling with a bait of natural or artificial flies; fishing using a fly{2} as bait.
Walton.
– – Fly fisherman
, one who fishes using natural or artificial flies{2} as bait, especially one who fishes exclusively in that manner.
– Fly flap
, an implement for killing flies.
– Fly governor
, a governor for regulating the speed of an engine, etc., by the resistance of vanes revolving in the air.
– Fly honeysuckle
(Bot.)
, a plant of the honeysuckle genus (
– Lonicera
), having a bushy stem and the flowers in pairs, as L. ciliata
and L. Xylosteum
. Fly hook
, a fishhook supplied with an artificial fly.
– Fly leaf
, an unprinted leaf at the beginning or end of a book, circular, programme, etc.
– Fly maggot
a maggot bred from the egg of a fly.
Ray.
– Fly net
, a screen to exclude insects.
– Fly nut
(Mach.)
, a nut with wings; a thumb nut; a finger nut.
– Fly orchis
(Bot.)
, a plant (
– Ophrys muscifera
), whose flowers resemble flies. Fly paper
, poisoned or sticky paper for killing flies that feed upon or are entangled by it.
– Fly powder
, an arsenical powder used to poison flies.
– Fly press
, a screw press for punching, embossing, etc., operated by hand and having a heavy fly.
– Fly rail
, a bracket which turns out to support the hinged leaf of a table.
– Fly rod
, a light fishing rod used in angling with a fly.
– Fly sheet
, a small loose advertising sheet; a handbill.
– Fly snapper
(Zool.)
, an American bird (
The male is glossy blue-black; the female brownish gray. – Phainopepla nitens
), allied to the chatterers and shrikes. Fly wheel
(Mach.)
, a heavy wheel attached to machinery to equalize the movement (opposing any sudden acceleration by its inertia and any retardation by its momentum), and to accumulate or give out energy for a variable or intermitting resistance. See , 9.
– Fly
, Noun.
On the fly
(Baseball)
, still in the air; – said of a batted ball caught before touching the ground.
. Fly
,Adj.
Knowing; wide awake; fully understanding another's meaning.
[Slang]
Dickens.
Webster 1828 Edition
Fly
FLY
, v.i.1.
To move through air by the aid of wings, as fowls.2.
To pass or move in air, by the force of wind or other impulse; as, clouds and vapors fly before the wind. A ball flies from a cannon, an arrow from a bow.3.
To rise in air, as light substances, by means of a current of air or by having less specific gravity than air, as smoke.Man is born to trouble, as the sparks fly upward. Job. 5.
4.
To move or pass with velocity or celerity, either on land or water. He flew to the relief of his distressed friend. The ship flies upon the main.5.
To move rapidly, in any manner; as, a top flies about.6.
To pass away; to depart; with the idea of haste, swiftness or escape. The bird has flown.7.
To pass rapidly, as time. Swift fly the fleeting hours.8.
To part suddenly or with violence; to burst, as a bottle.9.
To spring by an elastic force.10.
To pass swiftly, as rumor or report.11.
To flee; to run away; to attempt to escape; to escape.I'll fly from shepherds, flocks, and flowery plains.
12.
To flutter; to vibrate or play; as a flag in the wind.To fly at, to spring towards; to rush on; to fall on suddenly. A hen flies at a dog or cat; a dog flies at a man.
1.
To fly in the face, to insult.2.
To assail; to resist; to set at defiance; to oppose with violence; to act in direct opposition.1.
To fly off, to separate or depart suddenly.2.
To revolt.To fly open, to open suddenly or with violence; as, the doors flew open.
1.
To fly out, to rush out; also, to burst into a passion.2.
To break out into license.3.
To start or issue with violence from any direction.1.
To let fly, to discharge; to throw or drive with violence; as, to let fly a shower of darts.2.
In seamanship, to let go suddenly. Let fly the sheets.FLY
,Verb.
T.
1.
To shun; to avoid; to decline; as, to fly the sight of one we hate. That is, primarily, to flee fromSleep flies the wretch.
2.
To quit by flight.3.
To attack by a bird of prey. [Not used.]4.
To cause to float in the air.FLY
, n.1.
In zoology, a winged insect of various species, whose distinguishing characteristic is that the wings are transparent. By this flies are distinguished from beetles, butterflies, grasshoppers, &c. Of flies, some have two wings and others four.In common language, fly is the house fly, of the genus Musca.
2.
In mechanics, a cross with leaden weights at the ends, or a heavy wheel at right angles with the axis of a windlass, jack or the like. The use of this is, to regulate and equalize the motion in all parts of the revolution of the machine.3.
That part of a vane which points and shows which way the wind blows.4.
The extent of an ensign, flag or pendant from the staff to the end that flutters loose in the wind.