英文字典中文字典Word104.com

The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 (gcide)

Fly \Fly\ (fl[imac]), v. i. [imp. {Flew} (fl[=u]); p. p. {Flown}
(fl[=o]n); p. pr. & vb. n. {Flying}.] [OE. fleen, fleen,
fleyen, flegen, AS. fle['o]gan; akin to D. vliegen, OHG.
fliogan, G. fliegen, Icel. flj[=u]ga, Sw. flyga, Dan. flyve,
Goth. us-flaugjan to cause to fly away, blow about, and perh.
to L. pluma feather, E. plume. [root]84. Cf. {Fledge},
{Flight}, {Flock} of animals.]
1. To move in or pass through the air with wings, as a bird.

2. To move through the air or before the wind; esp., to pass
or be driven rapidly through the air by any impulse.
[1913 Webster]

3. To float, wave, or rise in the air, as sparks or a flag.
[1913 Webster]

Man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward.
--Job v. 7.
[1913 Webster]

4. To move or pass swiftly; to hasten away; to circulate
rapidly; as, a ship flies on the deep; a top flies around;
rumor flies.
[1913 Webster]

Fly, envious Time, till thou run out thy race.
--Milton.
[1913 Webster]

The dark waves murmured as the ships flew on.
--Bryant.
[1913 Webster]

5. To run from danger; to attempt to escape; to flee; as, an
enemy or a coward flies. See Note under {Flee}.
[1913 Webster]

Fly, ere evil intercept thy flight. --Milton.
[1913 Webster]

Whither shall I fly to escape their hands ? --Shak.
[1913 Webster]

6. To move suddenly, or with violence; to do an act suddenly
or swiftly; -- usually with a qualifying word; as, a door
flies open; a bomb flies apart.
[1913 Webster]

{To fly about} (Naut.), to change frequently in a short time;
-- said of the wind.

{To fly around}, to move about in haste. [Colloq.]

{To fly at}, to spring toward; to rush on; to attack
suddenly.

{To fly in the face of}, to insult; to assail; to set at
defiance; to oppose with violence; to act in direct
opposition to; to resist.

{To fly off}, to separate, or become detached suddenly; to
revolt.

{To fly on}, to attack.

{To fly open}, to open suddenly, or with violence.

{To fly out}.
(a) To rush out.
(b) To burst into a passion; to break out into license.

{To let fly}.
(a) To throw or drive with violence; to discharge. "A man
lets fly his arrow without taking any aim." --Addison.
(b) (Naut.) To let go suddenly and entirely; as, to let
fly the sheets.
[1913 Webster]


Flying \Fly"ing\, a. [From {Fly}, v. i.]
Moving in the air with, or as with, wings; moving lightly or
rapidly; intended for rapid movement.
[1913 Webster]

{Flying army} (Mil.) a body of cavalry and infantry, kept in
motion, to cover its own garrisons and to keep the enemy
in continual alarm. --Farrow.

{Flying artillery} (Mil.), artillery trained to rapid
evolutions, -- the men being either mounted or trained to
spring upon the guns and caissons when they change
position.

{Flying bridge}, {Flying camp}. See under {Bridge}, and
{Camp}.

{Flying buttress} (Arch.), a contrivance for taking up the
thrust of a roof or vault which can not be supported by
ordinary buttresses. It consists of a straight bar of
masonry, usually sloping, carried on an arch, and a solid
pier or buttress sufficient to receive the thrust. The
word is generally applied only to the straight bar with
supporting arch.

{Flying colors}, flags unfurled and waving in the air; hence:

{To come off with flying colors}, to be victorious; to
succeed thoroughly in an undertaking.

{Flying doe} (Zool.), a young female kangaroo.

{Flying dragon}.
(a) (Zool.) See {Dragon}, 6.
(b) A meteor. See under {Dragon}.

{Flying Dutchman}.
(a) A fabled Dutch mariner condemned for his crimes to sail
the seas till the day of judgment.
(b) A spectral ship.

{Flying fish}. (Zool.) See {Flying fish}, in the Vocabulary.


{Flying fox} (Zool.), see {Flying fox} in the vocabulary.

{Flying frog} (Zool.), either of two East Indian tree frogs
of the genus {Rhacophorus} ({Rhacophorus nigrapalmatus}
and {Rhacophorus pardalis}), having very large and broadly
webbed feet, which serve as parachutes, and enable it to
make very long leaps.

{Flying gurnard} (Zool.), a species of gurnard of the genus
{Cephalacanthus} or {Dactylopterus}, with very large
pectoral fins, said to be able to fly like the flying
fish, but not for so great a distance.

Note: Three species are known; that of the Atlantic is
{Cephalacanthus volitans}.

{Flying jib} (Naut.), a sail extended outside of the standing
jib, on the flying-jib boom.

{Flying-jib boom} (Naut.), an extension of the jib boom.

{Flying kites} (Naut.), light sails carried only in fine
weather.

{Flying lemur}. (Zool.) See {Colugo}.

{Flying level} (Civil Engin.), a reconnoissance level over
the course of a projected road, canal, etc.

{Flying lizard}. (Zool.) See {Dragon}, n. 6.

{Flying machine}, any apparatus for navigating through the
air, especially a heavier-than-air machine. -- {Flying
mouse} (Zool.), the opossum mouse ({Acrobates pygm[ae]us}), a
marsupial of Australia. Called also {feathertail glider}.

Note: It has lateral folds of skin, like the flying
squirrels, and a featherlike tail. -- {Flying party}
(Mil.), a body of soldiers detailed to hover about an
enemy. -- {Flying phalanger} (Zool.), one of several
species of small marsuupials of the genera {Petaurus} and
{Belideus}, of Australia and New Guinea, having lateral
folds like those of the flying squirrels. The sugar
squirrel ({Belideus sciureus}), and the ariel ({Belideus
ariel}), are the best known; -- called also {squirrel
petaurus} and {flying squirrel}. See {Sugar squirrel}. --
{Flying pinion}, the fly of a clock. -- {Flying sap} (Mil.),
the rapid construction of trenches (when the enemy's fire
of case shot precludes the method of simple trenching), by
means of gabions placed in juxtaposition and filled with
earth. -- {Flying shot}, a shot fired at a moving object,
as a bird on the wing. -- {Flying spider}. (Zool.) See
{Ballooning spider}. -- {Flying squid} (Zool.), an oceanic
squid ({Ommastrephes Bartramii} syn. {Sthenoteuthis
Bartramii}), abundant in the Gulf Stream, which is able to
leap out of the water with such force that it often falls
on the deck of a vessel. -- {Flying squirrel} (Zool.) See
{Flying squirrel}, in the Vocabulary. -- {Flying start}, a
start in a sailing race in which the signal is given while
the vessels are under way. -- {Flying torch} (Mil.), a
torch attached to a long staff and used for signaling at
night.
[1913 Webster]