fleev.

Brit.

/fliː/, U.S.

/fli/

Inflections: Past tense and past participle fled

/flɛd/;

Forms: 1. Present stem. a. Infinitive.

α. Old English fléa (northern), Old English flíon, Old English gefléon, Old English–Middle English fléon, Middle English flæen, Middle English fleen, Middle English flei, Middle English flo, Middle English vleen, Middle English vlen (southern), Middle English–1500s fle, Middle English– flee, 1500s fley.

β. Middle English flede.

b. 1st singular indicative Old English fléo, Old English fléom (Mercian). c. 2nd singular indicative Old English flíhst. d. 3rd singular indicative Old English fléð, Old English flíhð, Old English flíð (northern), Middle English flicþ, Middle English fliȝt, Middle English flihþ. e. Plural indicative Old English fléað (northern), Old English fléoð. f. Imperative Middle English fli, Middle English fliȝ, Middle English flih, Middle English vlih (southern). c888 Ælfred tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. xxxiii. §2 He..flihþ ða wædle.a1000 Boeth. Metr. (Gr.) vii. 30 He sceal swiðe flion þisse worulde wlite.?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 155 Flich þer fromward ear þu beo iattred.c1230 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Corpus Cambr.) (1962) 85 Arseni flih men.a1240 Ureisun in Cott. Hom. 203 Hwuder schal ich fleon hwon þe [etc.].a1250 Owl & Nightingale 176 Wel fiȝt that wel fliȝt.c1330 R. Mannyng Chron. (1810) 39 Þei went egrely, & did þo kynges fle.1340 Ayenbite (1866) 41 Oþer huanne me draȝþ þo out þet vleþ to holy cherche.c1374 G. Chaucer Compl. Mars 105 He..bad her fleen, lest Phebus her espye.c1380 Sir Ferumbras (1879) l. 3902 He not wyder flene.1393 W. Langland Piers Plowman C. xxi. 346 Ich rede we fleo..faste alle hennes.a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 4310 Þou do þe stallworthli to flei.a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) 2818 Þe angls badd loth do him flee.c1450 J. Myrc Instr. to Par. Priests 1374 Wythowte werke or fleschly dede Þy chastyte from þe doth flede.1556 tr. J. de Flores Histoire de Aurelio & Isabelle sig. F5 It that you fley be the daye, you showe to desire it the nighte. 2. Past tense.

α. Old English fléah, Old English fléh, Middle English flæh, Middle English flagh (also rarely as plural), Middle English flaghe (also rarely as plural), Middle English fleah, Middle English fleȝ, Middle English fleȝh, Middle English flei, Middle English fleiȝ, Middle English fleigh (rarely as plural), Middle English fleih, Middle English fley, Middle English vleaȝ (southern), Middle English vleh (southern). c825 Vesp. Psalter cxiii [cxiv]. 3 Sae geseah & fleh.a1000 Boeth. Metr. (Gr.) i. 20 Fleah casere mid þam æðelingum ut on Crecas.c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 823 He flæh till wesste fra þe follc.a1225 Leg. Kath. 16 Wes Maxence ouercumen & fleah into Alixandre.c1230 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Corpus Cambr.) (1962) 83 He fleh his hali kun icoren of ure lauerd.a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 430 Caym fro him [adam] fleg.1340 Ayenbite (1866) 129 Þet hette agar þo hi uleaȝ uram hare lheuedi.1382 J. Wyclif Psalms cxiv. 3 The se saȝ and fleiȝ. ▸ a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1865) I. 189 Þat prince sauede men þat fleigh to hym.a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Trin. Cambr.) l. 7592 Mony fley wiþ deþes wounde.a1400 Octouian 1149 Florentyn yaf hym swych a dent As he forth fleȝh, That [etc.].c1540 (?a1400) Destr. Troy 6001 As þai flaghe in the filde.

β. Middle English fleu, Middle English flewgh, Middle English–1500s flew, Middle English–1500s flewe. Common to this verb with fly v.¹; ? influenced by strong past tense of flow v.1297 R. Gloucester's Chron. (1724) 18 Þe kyng with a fewe men hymself flew at the laste.1297 R. Gloucester's Chron. (1724) 258 He fleu [printed flen] wyþ muche wo.c1380 J. Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 412 Seynt Poule..flewȝh suche beggynge.

γ. (a) plural Old English flugon, Old English flugun, Middle English floȝen, Middle English floghen, Middle English floun, Middle English flowe, Middle English flowen, Middle English flue, Middle English fluen, Middle English fluȝen, Middle English fluȝhen, Middle English fluȝhenn ( Ormulum), Middle English fluhen, Middle English fluwen, Middle English vluwen (southern); (b) singular Middle English flogh. c950 Lindisf. Gosp. Matt. xxvi. 56 Alle..geflugun.c1000 West Saxon Gospels: Mark (Corpus Cambr.) v. 14 Soþlice þa ðe hi heoldon flugon.c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 893 Baþe fluȝhenn fra þe follc.a1225 Juliana 52 Þat ter fluhen monie.?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 286 His deciples..fluwen alle from him.?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 84 Hise deciples fluȝen alle from him.c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 924 Þa eotendes fluȝen [c1300 Otho flowen].c1300 Beket 2144 His disciples flowe anon.a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 861 On of hem ðe flogen a-wei. ▸ a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(1)) (1850) Isa. xxxiii. 3 Fro the vois of the aungil floun puples.c1425 Seven Sag. (P.) 822 As thay flowen toward the felde.c1540 (?a1400) Destr. Troy 4732 The ffrigies floghen.c1540 (?a1400) Destr. Troy 11969 Ecuba..egerly flogh.

δ. Middle English fledden (plural), Middle English fleddon (plural), Middle English fleded, Middle English flededen (plural), Middle English fleden (plural), Middle English fleede, Middle English vledde (southern), Middle English–1600s fledd, Middle English–1600s fledde, Middle English– fled, 1500s–1600s flet, 1600s flaid (Scottish). c1300 K. Alis. 2441 So heo ferden..And flodeden [? read flededen.]c1330 R. Mannyng Chron. (1810) 88 Malcolme..fled for ferd.1340 Ayenbite (1866) 206 He him uledde ase wys and hise uorlet.c1384 G. Chaucer Hous of Fame i. 179 Iulo And eke askanius also ffleden.?a1400 Morte Arth. 1431 Thane þe Bretons..fleede to þe foreste.1490 W. Caxton tr. Eneydos xxxi. 118 Dedalus fleded to Thetys for fere of the kynge Mynos of Crete.c1540 (?a1400) Destr. Troy 1349 The Troiens..ffleddon in fere and þe filde leuyt.c1600 Wriothesley's Chron. Eng. (1875) I. 3 Perkin Werbeck..fledd to Bowdley St. Marie.1647 H. More Philos. Poems i. iii. lxvii But what could well be sav'd to Simon flet.

3. Past participle.

α. Old English flogen, Middle English flawen, Middle English flowe, Middle English flowen, Middle English flowyn, Middle English flugen, Middle English ifloȝen, Middle English iflowen, Middle English ivlowen (southern), Middle English yflowe, Middle English yflowen. ?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 130 Ȝehabbeð þe world iflowen.c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 2378 Brennes wes awæi i-floȝen.c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 2969 Alle þe flæmen þe iflowe buð [c1300 Otho þat hi-flowe weren] of Rome.c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 10710 Nu is Childric iuloȝen [c1300 Otho a-floȝe].1297 R. Gloucester's Chron. (1724) 311 Of scaped he was & yflowe.c1320 Cast. Love 470 For-þi Ich am of londe i-flowen. ▸ a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1872) IV. 225 Marcus Antonius was i-flowe [v.rr. yflowe, fledde].a1400 K. Alis. (Linc. Inn MS.) 4486 Darie þe kyng is yflowe.?a1400 Arthur 579 Mordred was flow.c1400 (?c1380) Patience l. 214 He watz flawen fro þe face of frelych dryȝtyn.c1420 Chron. Vilod. 387 He nold not for þe crosse han flowe.c1460 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Laud) l. 16743 His appostils wern flowyn hym fro.

β. Middle English fledd, Middle English fledde, Middle English flede, Middle English fleed, Middle English– fled. c1325 Coer de L. 2301 The emperour was fled away.c1380 J. Wyclif Wks. (1880) 290 Fleed of men as disceyt of þe fend.a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 17544 He..es vnto þe felles fledd.?a1400 Morte Arth. 2488 The dyre feemene are flede.c1440 York Myst. xxii. 188 Þis fende þat nowe is fledde.1539 Bible (Great) Acts xvi. 27 Supposing that the presoners had bene fledde [1557 (Geneva), 1582 (Rheims) and 1611: fled].

Origin: A word inherited from Germanic.

Etymology: A Common Germanic originally strong verb: Old English fléon (fléah , flugon , flogen ) = Old Frisian flîa , Old Saxon fliohan (Middle Dutch vlîen , past tense vlô , later Middle Dutch and modern Dutch vlieden , past tense vlood , past participle vloden ), Old High German fliohan (Middle High German vliehen , modern German fliehen ), Old Norse flýa , flýja (with -jo- suffix in present stem), strong past tense fló , flugom , more commonly inflected weak, past tense flýða , past participle flýiðr (Swedish fly , past tense flydde , Danish flye , past tense flyede ), Gothic þliuhan < Old Germanic *þleuhan (inflected þlauh , þlugum , þlogono- ). The root (pre-Germanic *tleuk- ) has not been found outside Germanic. As the original initial þ has become f in all the Germanic languages except Gothic, those forms of the verb which according to Verner's law change h into g came to coincide with the corresponding forms of *fleugan to fly v.¹; hence in all these languages the two verbs have been more or less confused together.In Old English the verb was, so far as is known, always strong. The strong past tense and past participle survived in occasional use down to the 15th cent.; but in the 13th cent. the weak past tense fledde , past participle fled(d began to be used, and soon became more common than the earlier forms. Their origin is obscure: normally, they would imply an infinitive flede(n , and one instance of flede infinitive, with the sense ‘to flee’, has been found in 15th cent.; but little stress can be laid on this, on account of the late date, and the possibility that the form may have been invented by the writer for the sake of rhyme, on the analogy of the past tense fledde (for which Caxton has fleded ). Identification with flede v. to flow or flood seems impossible on account of the difference in sense. Some have compared flede with the Dutch form vlieden; but the Dutch practice of inserting a euphonic d in verbs with roots ending in h (as in belijden, wijden, vleiden) is peculiar to that language (first appearing in late Middle Dutch), and has no parallel in English; further, the Dutch verb, in spite of its alteration in form, is still conjugated strong; hence it seems probable that the resemblance between the Dutch and English forms is purely accidental. The resemblance of Middle English fledde to Swedish flydde may possibly be more significant. In Middle Swedish those verbs which, in consequence of contraction, had their present stems ending in a long vowel, formed their past tense in -dde for the earlier -þe; the change, according to Noreen, dates, so far as the spelling is concerned, from about 1350; it may however have occurred much earlier in some East Scandinavian dialect. The supposition that Middle English fledde may be of Scandinavian origin is supported by the fact that the earliest examples are chiefly from writers whose dialect is strongly marked by Scandinavian influence; on the other hand, it occurs as early as 1340 in the Kentish dialect of the Ayenbite. The confusion between the verbs flee and fly occurs already in Old English. In northern dialects the form flee is the normal phonetic descendant both of Old English fléon to flee and of fléoȝan to fly. In modern English the association of the two verbs has the curious result that the ordinary prose equivalent of Latin fugere is fly with past tense and past participle fled (the forms flew, flown have only the sense of Latin volare), while flee has become archaic, being confined to more or less rhetorical or poetic diction. Even fly and fled, indeed, now belong rather to literary than to colloquial English: expressions like ‘run away’ being substituted in familiar speech.

Significations.

I. intransitive.

a. To run away from or as from danger; to take flight; to try to escape or seek safety by flight. Also, to flee away, out, and to flee for it.

ΘΚΠ

the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > going away > go away [verb (intransitive)] > run away or flee

fleec825

afleeeOE

atrina1000

atfleec1000

to run awayOE

to turn to or into flighta1225

to turn the ridgec1225

atrenc1275

atshakec1275

to give backa1300

flemec1300

startc1330

to take (on oneself) the flighta1500

to take the back upon oneselfa1500

fly1523

to take (also betake) (oneself) to one's legs1530

to flee one's way1535

to take to one's heels1548

flought?1567

fuge1573

to turn taila1586

to run off1628

to take flighta1639

refugea1641

to run for it1642

to take leg1740

to give (also take) leg-bail1751

bail1775

sherry1788

to pull foot1792

fugitate1830

to tail off (out)1830

to take to flight1840

to break (strike, etc.) for (the) tall timber1845

guy1879

to give leg (or legs)1883

rabbit1887

to do a guy1889

high-tail1908

to have it on one's toes1958

c825 [see α. forms].

c1000 West Saxon Gospels: Matt. (Corpus Cambr.) viii. 33 Ða hyrdas witodlice flugon.

c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 2775 & swiðe monie þer fluwen [c1300 Otho floȝen] & ferden to Rome.

c1325 Coer de L. 2303 Flowen was that fals coward.

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 2614 Sco was fain to fle a-wai.

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Trin. Cambr.) l. 9213 Þe kyng fley out bi nyȝt.

1489 W. Caxton tr. C. de Pisan Bk. Fayttes of Armes ii. xxxvii. 155 They shall make as they dide flee.

c1540 (?a1400) Destr. Troy 10077 The grekes flowen in fere & the feld leuyt.

1559 W. Baldwin et al. Myrroure for Magistrates Mortimer xx For they flewe, I feared them the lesse.

1605 W. Camden Remaines i. 216 One that had in his forehead a bounch of flesh, fledde away a great pase.

1709 R. Steele Tatler No. 80. ⁋3 My Confusion at last was so great, that without speaking, or being spoken to, I fled for it.

1847 G. P. R. James John Marston Hall ix Some of them fled as fast as their legs would carry them.

1884 F. M. Crawford Rom. Singer (1886) I. 90 A hundred women will tell you that they are ready to flee with you.

Proverb.a1250 Owl & Nightingale 176 ‘Wel fiȝt that wel fliȝt’, seith the wise.13.. Prov. Hendyng ix, in T. Wright & J. O. Halliwell Reliquiæ Antiquæ (1845) I. 111 ‘Wel fytht, that wel flyth’ Quoth Hendyng.

b. Const. †forth of, from, out of.

ΚΠ

c825 Vesp. Psalter lxvii[i]. 2 Feond his..flen from onsiene his.

1154 Anglo-Saxon Chron. anno 1137 Sume flugen ut of lande.

a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 430 Caym fro him fleg.

c1450 J. Myrc Instr. to Par. Priests 1681 Ȝef he haue grace in herte to se How aungelus..From hym faste flen.

1549 R. Crowley Voyce Laste Trumpet sig. Aii^v When Elias fled awaye, From Ahab.

1564 N. Haward tr. Eutropius Briefe Chron. vii. sig. M.iiii^v He [sc. Nero] fled forthe of his palace.

1600 W. Shakespeare Henry IV, Pt. 2 ii. iv. 230 The rogue fled from me like quicksiluer.

1611 Bible (King James) Job xx. 24 He shall flee from the iron weapon.

c. Conjugated with be.

ΚΠ

a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 3396 Get sal ðe kinde of amalech Ben al fled dun in deades wrech.

c1330 (?a1300) Sir Tristrem (1886) l. 2223 Tristrem was fled oway.

1480 W. Caxton Chron. Eng. ccxxxii. 250 Whan pyers was fledde oute of spayn.

1535 W. Stewart tr. H. Boethius Bk. Cron. Scotl. (1858) II. 479 And mony freik out of the feild wes fled.

1671 H. M. tr. Erasmus Colloquies 543 He won by an assault a strong defenced Castle, whereinto the Lady great with child was fled.

†d. reflexive; also quasi-transitive, to flee one's way.

ΘΚΠ

the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > going away > go away [verb (reflexive)] > run away

to flee one's wayc1275

take?a1425

to betake or smite oneself to flight1490

to set oneself in flight1625–6

the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > going away > go away [verb (intransitive)] > run away or flee

fleec825

afleeeOE

atrina1000

atfleec1000

to run awayOE

to turn to or into flighta1225

to turn the ridgec1225

atrenc1275

atshakec1275

to give backa1300

flemec1300

startc1330

to take (on oneself) the flighta1500

to take the back upon oneselfa1500

fly1523

to take (also betake) (oneself) to one's legs1530

to flee one's way1535

to take to one's heels1548

flought?1567

fuge1573

to turn taila1586

to run off1628

to take flighta1639

refugea1641

to run for it1642

to take leg1740

to give (also take) leg-bail1751

bail1775

sherry1788

to pull foot1792

fugitate1830

to tail off (out)1830

to take to flight1840

to break (strike, etc.) for (the) tall timber1845

guy1879

to give leg (or legs)1883

rabbit1887

to do a guy1889

high-tail1908

to have it on one's toes1958

c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 8024 Ah flih flih þinne wæi.

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Fairf. 14) l. 7676 He him fled to samuel.

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Gött.) l. 5680 Moyses..fledd him into madian.

1470–85 T. Malory Morte d'Arthur viii. vii Syr Marhaus..fledde his waye.

1535 Bible (Coverdale) Judith xv. 3 The Assirians..kept not them selues together, but fled their waye.

a. To hasten for safety or protection (to, †on).

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > safety > make safe or secure [verb (transitive)] > go to for safety

fleec825

to draw to warrantc1330

flya1400

to have or make (one's) refuge toa1538

the world > action or operation > safety > protection or defence > refuge or shelter > take refuge or shelter [verb (reflexive)]

fleea1400

shroud1553

shadea1586

ensconce1590

refuge1604

shelter1611

engarrison1682

c825 Vesp. Psalter cxlii[i]. 9 Dryhten to ðe ic gefleh.

OE Beowulf 764 Mynte se mæra, þær he meahte..on weg þanon fleon on fenhopu.

c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 8025 Fleo þider þe þu fleo.

1393 W. Langland Piers Plowman C. iii. 220 Falsnesse for fere þo flegh to þe freres.

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 6675 Þof he to mine auter flei.

1535 Bible (Coverdale) Zech. xiv. 5 Ye shall fle vnto the valley of my hilles.

1678 J. Tillotson Serm. (ed. 3) I. 64 We can have..none in all the world to fle [1671 p. 64 flye] to, but Him.

1718 M. Prior Solomon on Vanity iii, in Poems Several Occasions (new ed.) 491 In vain for Life He to the Altar fled.

1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. 176 The Presbyterians..fled to the foot of the throne.

1858 M. Porteous Real Souter Johnny (ed. 2) 30 Or silly mortal blinks an ee To muckle Jupiter ye'll flee.

†b. reflexive. Obsolete.

ΚΠ

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Gött.) l. 5680 Moyses..fledd him into madian.

1600 P. Holland tr. Livy Rom. Hist. (1609) xliv. vi. 1174 b The king..fled himselfe to Pydna.

1610 J. Healey tr. St. Augustine Citie of God iii. xxxi. 151 But those..either fledde them-selues into such places..or else were brought thether.

†c. To have recourse to. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > advantage > usefulness > use (made of things) > recourse > have recourse to [verb (transitive)]

fang855

runOE

to take to ——?c1225

seeka1300

goc1390

to have (one's or a) recourse toc1405

recourse?a1425

suit1450

to take (also make or make one's) recourse to (also into)c1456

repairc1475

to fall to ——1490

recur1511

to take unto ——1553

flee1563

betake1590

retreat1650

to call on ——1721

devolve1744

to draw upon ——1800

to draw on ——a1817

1563 2nd Tome Homelyes Agst. Idolatry iii, in J. Griffiths Two Bks. Homilies (1859) ii. 220 They..flee to this aunswere, that [etc.].

1660 F. Brooke tr. V. Le Blanc World Surveyed 270 The servants and others fled to their swords.

a. To withdraw hastily, take oneself off, go away. Also with away. Const. from, out of. Also, To swerve from (a commandment); to keep free from (a practice).

ΘΚΠ

the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > going away > go away [verb (intransitive)] > go away suddenly or hastily

fleec825

runOE

swervea1225

biwevec1275

skip1338

streekc1380

warpa1400

yerna1400

smoltc1400

stepc1460

to flee (one's) touch?1515

skirr1548

rubc1550

to make awaya1566

lope1575

scuddle1577

scoura1592

to take the start1600

to walk off1604

to break awaya1616

to make off1652

to fly off1667

scuttle1681

whew1684

scamper1687

whistle off1689

brush1699

to buy a brush1699

to take (its, etc.) wing1704

decamp1751

to take (a) French leave1751

morris1765

to rush off1794

to hop the twig1797

to run along1803

scoot1805

to take off1815

speela1818

to cut (also make, take) one's lucky1821

to make (take) tracks (for)1824

absquatulize1829

mosey1829

absquatulate1830

put1834

streak1834

vamoose1834

to put out1835

cut1836

stump it1841

scratch1843

scarper1846

to vamoose the ranch1847

hook1851

shoo1851

slide1859

to cut and run1861

get1861

skedaddle1862

bolt1864

cheese it1866

to do a bunkc1870

to wake snakes1872

bunk1877

nit1882

to pull one's freight1884

fooster1892

to get the (also to) hell out (of)1892

smoke1893

mooch1899

to fly the coop1901

skyhoot1901

shemozzle1902

to light a shuck1905

to beat it1906

pooter1907

to take a run-out powder1909

blow1912

to buzz off1914

to hop it1914

skate1915

beetle1919

scram1928

amscray1931

boogie1940

skidoo1949

bug1950

do a flit1952

to do a scarper1958

to hit, split or take the breeze1959

to do a runner1980

to be (also get, go) ghost1986

society > travel > aspects of travel > departure, leaving, or going away > depart, leave, or go away [verb (intransitive)] > hastily or suddenly

fleec825

warpa1400

wringc1400

bolt1575

decamp1751

mog1770

to hop the twig1797

to take (its, etc.) wing1806

to make (take) tracks (for)1824

vamoose1834

fade1848

skedaddle1862

to beat it1906

blow1912

to hop it1914

beetle1919

bug1950

jet1951

society > authority > lack of subjection > be unsubmissive [verb (intransitive)] > break rule or custom

fleea1400

transgress1526

c825 Vesp. Psalter cxxxviii[i]. 7 From onsiene ðinre hwider fleom ic.

c1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 127 On his ȝuweðe he fleh fro folke to weste.

1297 R. Gloucester's Chron. (1724) 501 Clerkes & lewede, that fram thi seruise wolle fle.

c1385 G. Chaucer Legend Good Women Dido. 1307 Ye wol nat fro your wyf thus foule fleene!

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Trin. Cambr.) l. 9816 His hert auȝte bettur breke in þre þen fro his biddyngis to fle.

c1440 Partonope 4881 Thys made me vtterly fro yow fleene.

1611 Bible (King James) Gen. xxxi. 27 Wherefore didst thou flee away secretly?

1717 A. Pope Eloisa to Abelard in Wks. 424 From the false world in early youth they fled.

1820 J. Keats Eve of St. Agnes in Lamia & Other Poems 104 These lovers fled away into the storm.

1848 A. Jameson Sacred & Legendary Art I. 313 Two years later he fled from society.

†b. To depart this life.

ΘΚΠ

the world > life > death > [verb (intransitive)]

forsweltc888

sweltc888

adeadeOE

deadc950

wendeOE

i-wite971

starveOE

witea1000

forfereOE

forthfareOE

forworthc1000

to go (also depart , pass, i-wite, chare) out of this worldOE

queleOE

fallOE

to take (also nim, underfo) (the) deathOE

to shed (one's own) blood?a1100

diec1135

endc1175

farec1175

to give up the ghostc1175

letc1200

aswelta1250

leavea1250

to-sweltc1275

to-worthc1275

to yield (up) the ghost (soul, breath, life, spirit)c1290

finea1300

spilla1300

part?1316

to leese one's life-daysa1325

to nim the way of deathc1325

to tine, leave, lose the sweatc1330

flit1340

trance1340

determinec1374

disperisha1382

to go the way of all the eartha1382

to be gathered to one's fathers1382

miscarryc1387

shut1390

goa1393

to die upa1400

expirea1400

fleea1400

to pass awaya1400

to seek out of lifea1400–50

to sye hethena1400

tinea1400

trespass14..

espirec1430

to end one's days?a1439

decease1439

to go away?a1450

ungoc1450

unlivec1450

to change one's lifea1470

vade1495

depart1501

to pay one's debt to (also the debt of) naturea1513

to decease this world1515

to go over?1520

jet1530

vade1530

to go westa1532

to pick over the perch1532

galpa1535

to die the death1535

to depart to God1548

to go home1561

mort1568

inlaikc1575

shuffle1576

finish1578

to hop (also tip, pitch over, drop off, etc.) the perch1587

relent1587

unbreathe1589

transpass1592

to lose one's breath1596

to make a die (of it)1611

to go offa1616

fail1623

to go out1635

to peak over the percha1641

exita1652

drop1654

to knock offa1657

to kick upa1658

to pay nature her due1657

ghost1666

to march off1693

to die off1697

pike1697

to drop off1699

tip (over) the perch1699

to pass (also go, be called, etc.) to one's reward1703

sink1718

vent1718

to launch into eternity1719

to join the majority1721

demise1727

to pack off1735

to slip one's cable1751

turf1763

to move off1764

to pop off the hooks1764

to hop off1797

to pass on1805

to go to glory1814

sough1816

to hand in one's accounts1817

to slip one's breatha1819

croak1819

to slip one's wind1819

stiffen1820

weed1824

buy1825

to drop short1826

to fall (a) prey (also victim, sacrifice) to1839

to get one's (also the) call1839

to drop (etc.) off the hooks1840

to unreeve one's lifeline1840

to step out1844

to cash, pass or send in one's checks1845

to hand in one's checks1845

to go off the handle1848

to go under1848

succumb1849

to turn one's toes up1851

to peg out1852

walk1858

snuff1864

to go or be up the flume1865

to pass outc1867

to cash in one's chips1870

to go (also pass over) to the majority1883

to cash in1884

to cop it1884

snuff1885

to belly up1886

perch1886

to kick the bucket1889

off1890

to knock over1892

to pass over1897

to stop one1901

to pass in1904

to hand in one's marble1911

the silver cord is loosed1911

pip1913

to cross over1915

conk1917

to check out1921

to kick off1921

to pack up1925

to step off1926

to take the ferry1928

peg1931

to meet one's Maker1933

to kiss off1935

to crease it1959

zonk1968

cark1977

to cark it1979

to take a dirt nap1981

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Gött.) l. 20262 Hu sal we liue quen þu will fle?

4. To make one's escape, get safely away.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > safety > escape > [verb (intransitive)]

atfareOE

atcomec1220

atstertc1220

atrouta1250

ascape1250

astart1250

atblenchc1275

scapec1275

aschapec1300

fleec1300

ofscapea1325

escapec1330

overfleea1382

to get awaya1400

slipa1400

starta1400

skiftc1440

eschewc1450

withstartec1460

rida1470

chape1489

to flee (one's) touch?1515

evadea1522

betwynde?1534

to make out1558

outscape1562

outslip1600

to come off1630

c1300 Havelok (Laud) (1868) 1882 Late we nouth thise doges fle.

c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) Deeds xvi. 27 Wenynge the boundyn men for to haue fled.

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 7755 Þar þai fell þat moght not fle.

c1430 J. Lydgate Minor Poems 186 He is a fole that..fled is fro prisoun.

1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost iv. 963 Flie thither whence thou [sc. Satan] fledst.

1821 P. B. Shelley Epipsychidion 18 As a hunted deer that could not flee, I..stood at bay.

5. To pass away quicky and suddenly; to disappear, vanish. Also with away.

ΘΚΠ

the world > physical sensation > sight and vision > invisibility > be or become invisible [verb (intransitive)] > vanish or disappear

formeltc893

wendOE

witea1000

aworthc1000

fleec1200

fleetc1200

withdraw1297

vanish1303

voidc1374

unkithea1400

startc1405

disappearc1425

disparishc1425

to fall awayc1443

evanish?a1475

vade1495

sinka1500

vade1530

fly1535

fadea1538

melt?1567

dispear1600

relinquish1601

foist1603

dispersea1616

to vanish (melt, etc.) into thin aira1616

dissipate1626

retire1647

evaporate1713

merge1802

illude1820

to foam off1826

dislimn1833

furl1844

to step out1844

evanesce1855

shade1880

wisp1883

to go to the winds1884

walk1898

to do a disappearing act1913

to go west1916

to do (or take) a fade1949

to phase out1970

the world > existence and causation > existence > non-existence > be non-existent [verb (intransitive)] > end or cease to exist

tirec725

endOE

forfareOE

goc1175

fleec1200

to wend awayc1225

diea1240

to-melta1240

to pass awaya1325

flit1340

perishc1350

vanisha1375

decorre1377

cease1382

dispend1393

failc1400

overshakec1425

surcease1439

adrawc1450

fall1523

decease1538

define1562

fleet1576

expire1595

evanish1597

extinguish1599

extirp1606

disappear1623

evaporatea1631

trans-shift1648

annihilate1656

exolve1657

cancela1667

to pass off1699

to burn out, forth1832

spark1845

to die out1853

to come, go, etc. by the board1859

sputter1964

c1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 175 He is fleonde alse shadewe.

1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) Rev. xvi. 20 And ech ijle fley awey and hilles ben not founde.

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 12075 And son þe spirit þat was fledd Again come in þat ilk stede.

a1525 (c1448) R. Holland Bk. Howlat l. 140 in W. A. Craigie Asloan MS (1925) II. 99 Ye swallowe so swyft..Is forthwart to fle.

1639 P. Massinger Unnaturall Combat v. ii. sig. K4^v Take not thy flight so soone immaculate spirit. Tis fled already.

1714 A. Pope Rape of Lock (new ed.) i. 4 When Woman's transient Breath is fled.

1776 E. Gibbon Decline & Fall I. vii. 199 The animating health and vigour were fled.

1817 P. B. Shelley Laon & Cythna v. xliii. 114 As I approached, the morning's golden mist..fled.

1850 Elder's House 215 Pale flowers, Whose life and bloom are fled.

1886 A. Winchell Walks & Talks in Geol. Field 214 A million of years may flee away before one revolution is completed.

6. Occasionally used for fly v.¹ (= volare). (Often in Shelley.)Examples of the present stem from dialect literature (Scots and northern English) are not given here, as in them flee is the regular form of fly v.¹ In recent instances, the use of flee for fly is chiefly for the sake of rhyme, or to produce a sort of archaistic effect; in older writers it may be due variously to confusion between the two verbs, to adoption of dialectal phrases (esp. in ‘to let flee’), or to a development from sense 5.

ΘΚΠ

the world > movement > progressive motion > moving with current of air or water > motion in the air > move in the air [verb (intransitive)] > fly (as) with wings

fleec1000

flyOE

winga1616

c1000 Ælfric Homilies I. 142 Culfran lufiað annysse, and fleoð him floccmælum.

a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(1)) (1850) Jer. xlviii. 40 As an egle he shall fleen out.

c1400 Mandeville's Trav. (1839) xxii. 238 The tronchouns flen in sprotes and peces.

1553 T. Wilson Arte Rhetorique (1580) 211 He let flee at hym like a Dragon.

1593 W. Shakespeare Venus & Adonis sig. Fiij^v Loues golden arrow at him should haue fled .

1605 J. Sylvester tr. G. de S. Du Bartas Deuine Weekes & Wks. ii. ii. 418 Make fast this rope, and then they let it flee.

1612 J. Davies Muses Sacrifice in Wks. (Grosart) II. 75/1 At which forthwith he [the Libard] flees, And piece-meal teares it.

1744 ‘J. Love’ Cricket i. 5 The Youth cries Rub; O Flee, you Ling'rer, Flee!

1816 P. B. Shelley Alastor 25 The boat fled on.

a1822 P. B. Shelley Ginevra in Posthumous Poems (1824) 236 The dark arrow fled In the noon.

II. transitive.

7. To run away from, hasten away from; to quit abruptly, forsake (a person or place, etc.).

ΘΚΠ

the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > going away > go away from [verb (transitive)] > go away from suddenly or hurriedly

fleeOE

to give the bag to1582

fling1588

vamoose1847

jump1875

skip1884

to leave (a person) flat1902

blow1912

scarper1937

OE Andreas (1932) 1538 Wæs him ut myne fleon fealone stream, woldon feore beorgan, to dunscræfum drohtað secan, eorðan ondwist.

1387–8 Petition London Mercers in R. W. Chambers & M. Daunt Bk. London Eng. (1931) 34 Some fledde the Citee for feere.

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 14884 He folus þaim and þai him fle.

1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry VI f. xcv Straungers in great nombre fled the land.

1595 W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 3 ii. i. 19 So fled his enemies our valiant father.

1600 W. Shakespeare Henry IV, Pt. 2 i. i. 18 Yong prince Iohn..fled the field.

1605 J. Sylvester tr. G. de S. Du Bartas Deuine Weekes & Wks. ii. ii. 386 The more he [sc. a River] flies his source.

1634 T. Herbert Relation Some Yeares Trauaile 3 Vpon better view he feared and fled vs.

1647 C. Cotterell & W. Aylesbury tr. E. C. Davila Hist. Civill Warres France i. 44 He..was forced to flee his Country.

1726 W. R. Chetwood Voy. & Adventures Capt. R. Boyle 130 All his Attendants had fled his Presence.

1801 R. Southey Thalaba II. ix. 183 She fled the place of Tombs.

figurative.c1400 Rom. Rose 4786 If thou flee it, it shal flee thee; Folowe it, and folowen shal it thee.a1522 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid (1959) vi. i. 116 Now at the last, that fled ws evir mor, The forther cost of Ital haue we kaucht.1526 W. Bonde Pylgrimage of Perfection iii. sig. gvii All temptacions fledde their holynesse.1816 Ld. Byron Childe Harold: Canto III xxxix. 22 When Fortune fled her spoil'd and favourite child.1882 R. L. Stevenson New Arabian Nights I. 197 Sleep continued to flee him.

8. In weaker sense: To avoid with dread or dislike; to eschew, shun. Occasionally in passive; also †with infinitive as object.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > inaction > not doing > abstaining or refraining from action > abstain or refrain from (action) [verb (transitive)] > avoid or shun

overboweOE

bibughOE

fleea1000

forbowa1000

ashun1000

befleec1000

beflyc1175

bischunc1200

withbuwe?c1225

waive1303

eschew1340

refuse1357

astartc1374

sparec1380

shuna1382

void1390

declinea1400

forbeara1400

shurna1400

avoidc1450

umbeschewc1485

shewe1502

evite1503

devoid1509

shrink1513

schew?a1534

devite1549

fly1552

abstract1560

evitate1588

estrange1613

cut1791

shy1802

skulk1835

side-slip1930

to walk away from1936

punt1969

a1000 Boeth. Metr. (Gr.) vii. 30 He sceal swiðe flion þisse worulde wlite.

c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 8056 Þa flæh i childess cosstess.

c1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 127 He fleȝ here ferrede.

a1340 R. Rolle Psalter i. 1 His verray lufers folous him fleand honur.

c1386 G. Chaucer Monk's Tale 265 Fro hir childhod..sche fledde Office of wommen.

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Gött.) l. 1952 Fle falshed and theft.

a1400 Cato's Distichs (Fairf.) l. 55 in R. Morris Cursor Mundi (1878) III. App. iv. 1670 (MED) Fle to take wife..bot ho be honest.

c1400 Lanfranc's Cirurg. 59 A wood hound fleeþ mete & water.

c1450 Jacob's Well (1900) 100 An angry man..owyth to be fled as a raveynous dogge.

1550 R. Crowley One & Thyrtye Epigrammes sig. Cii Auoid and fle dice.

1563 2nd Tome Homelyes Agst. Idolatry iii, in J. Griffiths Two Bks. Homilies (1859) ii. 230 Aungels flee to take vnto them by sacrelege the honoure dewe to God.

1766 J. Fordyce Serm. Young Women (ed. 2) II. xi. 159 Flee them, my fair pupils, flee them with horror.

1819 P. B. Shelley Rosalind & Helen 5 I would flee Thy tainting touch.

9. To contrive to avoid, save oneself from, escape from, evade. Now rare.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > safety > escape > escape from [verb (transitive)] > contrive to escape or evade

fleec1175

shunc1275

forgoc1305

passc1330

escapea1340

beglidea1350

voidc1380

shuntc1400

missa1522

evade1535

delude1536

to dally out1548

illude1553

prevent1598

outruna1616

to fail of1624

elude1634

subterfugea1643

shoot1685

shift1724

to get out of ——a1817

win by…1816

c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 9803 Hu þeȝȝ mihhtenn fleon. Drihhtiness irre.

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Fairf. 14) l. 22503 For to flee þe dai of awe.

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 3001 Your harm sa wend i best to fle.

1570 J. Foxe Actes & Monumentes (rev. ed.) I. 161/2 I..haue long fleene the handes of myne enemies.

1820 P. B. Shelley Prometheus Unbound i. i. 58 On Death's white and winged steed, Which the fleetest cannot flee.

This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1896; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

单词	flee
释义	† fleen. Etymology: < flee v. Obsolete. Flight. ΘΚΠ the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > going away > [noun] > flight or running away flemeOE flightc1175 fuge1436 fuite1499 fleec1560 fugacyc1600 tergiversationa1652 runaway1720 run1799 fugitation1823 skedaddling1863 skedaddle1870 lam1897 run-out1928 c1560 A. Scott Poems (E.E.T.S.) 10 And all the feild cryd, fy on him! Sa cowartly tuk the fle for fer. This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1896; most recently modified version published online March 2021). fleev. Brit. /fliː/, U.S. /fli/ Inflections: Past tense and past participle fled /flɛd/; Forms: 1. Present stem. a. Infinitive. α. Old English fléa (northern), Old English flíon, Old English gefléon, Old English–Middle English fléon, Middle English flæen, Middle English fleen, Middle English flei, Middle English flo, Middle English vleen, Middle English vlen (southern), Middle English–1500s fle, Middle English– flee, 1500s fley. β. Middle English flede. b. 1st singular indicative Old English fléo, Old English fléom (Mercian). c. 2nd singular indicative Old English flíhst. d. 3rd singular indicative Old English fléð, Old English flíhð, Old English flíð (northern), Middle English flicþ, Middle English fliȝt, Middle English flihþ. e. Plural indicative Old English fléað (northern), Old English fléoð. f. Imperative Middle English fli, Middle English fliȝ, Middle English flih, Middle English vlih (southern). c888 Ælfred tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. xxxiii. §2 He..flihþ ða wædle.a1000 Boeth. Metr. (Gr.) vii. 30 He sceal swiðe flion þisse worulde wlite.?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 155 Flich þer fromward ear þu beo iattred.c1230 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Corpus Cambr.) (1962) 85 Arseni flih men.a1240 Ureisun in Cott. Hom. 203 Hwuder schal ich fleon hwon þe [etc.].a1250 Owl & Nightingale 176 Wel fiȝt that wel fliȝt.c1330 R. Mannyng Chron. (1810) 39 Þei went egrely, & did þo kynges fle.1340 Ayenbite (1866) 41 Oþer huanne me draȝþ þo out þet vleþ to holy cherche.c1374 G. Chaucer Compl. Mars 105 He..bad her fleen, lest Phebus her espye.c1380 Sir Ferumbras (1879) l. 3902 He not wyder flene.1393 W. Langland Piers Plowman C. xxi. 346 Ich rede we fleo..faste alle hennes.a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 4310 Þou do þe stallworthli to flei.a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) 2818 Þe angls badd loth do him flee.c1450 J. Myrc Instr. to Par. Priests 1374 Wythowte werke or fleschly dede Þy chastyte from þe doth flede.1556 tr. J. de Flores Histoire de Aurelio & Isabelle sig. F5 It that you fley be the daye, you showe to desire it the nighte. 2. Past tense. α. Old English fléah, Old English fléh, Middle English flæh, Middle English flagh (also rarely as plural), Middle English flaghe (also rarely as plural), Middle English fleah, Middle English fleȝ, Middle English fleȝh, Middle English flei, Middle English fleiȝ, Middle English fleigh (rarely as plural), Middle English fleih, Middle English fley, Middle English vleaȝ (southern), Middle English vleh (southern). c825 Vesp. Psalter cxiii [cxiv]. 3 Sae geseah & fleh.a1000 Boeth. Metr. (Gr.) i. 20 Fleah casere mid þam æðelingum ut on Crecas.c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 823 He flæh till wesste fra þe follc.a1225 Leg. Kath. 16 Wes Maxence ouercumen & fleah into Alixandre.c1230 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Corpus Cambr.) (1962) 83 He fleh his hali kun icoren of ure lauerd.a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 430 Caym fro him [adam] fleg.1340 Ayenbite (1866) 129 Þet hette agar þo hi uleaȝ uram hare lheuedi.1382 J. Wyclif Psalms cxiv. 3 The se saȝ and fleiȝ. ▸ a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1865) I. 189 Þat prince sauede men þat fleigh to hym.a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Trin. Cambr.) l. 7592 Mony fley wiþ deþes wounde.a1400 Octouian 1149 Florentyn yaf hym swych a dent As he forth fleȝh, That [etc.].c1540 (?a1400) Destr. Troy 6001 As þai flaghe in the filde. β. Middle English fleu, Middle English flewgh, Middle English–1500s flew, Middle English–1500s flewe. Common to this verb with fly v.¹; ? influenced by strong past tense of flow v.1297 R. Gloucester's Chron. (1724) 18 Þe kyng with a fewe men hymself flew at the laste.1297 R. Gloucester's Chron. (1724) 258 He fleu [printed flen] wyþ muche wo.c1380 J. Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 412 Seynt Poule..flewȝh suche beggynge. γ. (a) plural Old English flugon, Old English flugun, Middle English floȝen, Middle English floghen, Middle English floun, Middle English flowe, Middle English flowen, Middle English flue, Middle English fluen, Middle English fluȝen, Middle English fluȝhen, Middle English fluȝhenn ( Ormulum), Middle English fluhen, Middle English fluwen, Middle English vluwen (southern); (b) singular Middle English flogh. c950 Lindisf. Gosp. Matt. xxvi. 56 Alle..geflugun.c1000 West Saxon Gospels: Mark (Corpus Cambr.) v. 14 Soþlice þa ðe hi heoldon flugon.c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 893 Baþe fluȝhenn fra þe follc.a1225 Juliana 52 Þat ter fluhen monie.?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 286 His deciples..fluwen alle from him.?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 84 Hise deciples fluȝen alle from him.c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 924 Þa eotendes fluȝen [c1300 Otho flowen].c1300 Beket 2144 His disciples flowe anon.a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 861 On of hem ðe flogen a-wei. ▸ a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(1)) (1850) Isa. xxxiii. 3 Fro the vois of the aungil floun puples.c1425 Seven Sag. (P.) 822 As thay flowen toward the felde.c1540 (?a1400) Destr. Troy 4732 The ffrigies floghen.c1540 (?a1400) Destr. Troy 11969 Ecuba..egerly flogh. δ. Middle English fledden (plural), Middle English fleddon (plural), Middle English fleded, Middle English flededen (plural), Middle English fleden (plural), Middle English fleede, Middle English vledde (southern), Middle English–1600s fledd, Middle English–1600s fledde, Middle English– fled, 1500s–1600s flet, 1600s flaid (Scottish). c1300 K. Alis. 2441 So heo ferden..And flodeden [? read flededen.]c1330 R. Mannyng Chron. (1810) 88 Malcolme..fled for ferd.1340 Ayenbite (1866) 206 He him uledde ase wys and hise uorlet.c1384 G. Chaucer Hous of Fame i. 179 Iulo And eke askanius also ffleden.?a1400 Morte Arth. 1431 Thane þe Bretons..fleede to þe foreste.1490 W. Caxton tr. Eneydos xxxi. 118 Dedalus fleded to Thetys for fere of the kynge Mynos of Crete.c1540 (?a1400) Destr. Troy 1349 The Troiens..ffleddon in fere and þe filde leuyt.c1600 Wriothesley's Chron. Eng. (1875) I. 3 Perkin Werbeck..fledd to Bowdley St. Marie.1647 H. More Philos. Poems i. iii. lxvii But what could well be sav'd to Simon flet. 3. Past participle. α. Old English flogen, Middle English flawen, Middle English flowe, Middle English flowen, Middle English flowyn, Middle English flugen, Middle English ifloȝen, Middle English iflowen, Middle English ivlowen (southern), Middle English yflowe, Middle English yflowen. ?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 130 Ȝehabbeð þe world iflowen.c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 2378 Brennes wes awæi i-floȝen.c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 2969 Alle þe flæmen þe iflowe buð [c1300 Otho þat hi-flowe weren] of Rome.c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 10710 Nu is Childric iuloȝen [c1300 Otho a-floȝe].1297 R. Gloucester's Chron. (1724) 311 Of scaped he was & yflowe.c1320 Cast. Love 470 For-þi Ich am of londe i-flowen. ▸ a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1872) IV. 225 Marcus Antonius was i-flowe [v.rr. yflowe, fledde].a1400 K. Alis. (Linc. Inn MS.) 4486 Darie þe kyng is yflowe.?a1400 Arthur 579 Mordred was flow.c1400 (?c1380) Patience l. 214 He watz flawen fro þe face of frelych dryȝtyn.c1420 Chron. Vilod. 387 He nold not for þe crosse han flowe.c1460 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Laud) l. 16743 His appostils wern flowyn hym fro. β. Middle English fledd, Middle English fledde, Middle English flede, Middle English fleed, Middle English– fled. c1325 Coer de L. 2301 The emperour was fled away.c1380 J. Wyclif Wks. (1880) 290 Fleed of men as disceyt of þe fend.a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 17544 He..es vnto þe felles fledd.?a1400 Morte Arth. 2488 The dyre feemene are flede.c1440 York Myst. xxii. 188 Þis fende þat nowe is fledde.1539 Bible (Great) Acts xvi. 27 Supposing that the presoners had bene fledde [1557 (Geneva), 1582 (Rheims) and 1611: fled]. Origin: A word inherited from Germanic. Etymology: A Common Germanic originally strong verb: Old English fléon (fléah , flugon , flogen ) = Old Frisian flîa , Old Saxon fliohan (Middle Dutch vlîen , past tense vlô , later Middle Dutch and modern Dutch vlieden , past tense vlood , past participle vloden ), Old High German fliohan (Middle High German vliehen , modern German fliehen ), Old Norse flýa , flýja (with -jo- suffix in present stem), strong past tense fló , flugom , more commonly inflected weak, past tense flýða , past participle flýiðr (Swedish fly , past tense flydde , Danish flye , past tense flyede ), Gothic þliuhan < Old Germanic þleuhan (inflected þlauh* , þlugum , þlogono- ). The root (pre-Germanic tleuk- ) has not been found outside Germanic. As the original initial þ has become f in all the Germanic languages except Gothic, those forms of the verb which according to Verner's law change h into g came to coincide with the corresponding forms of fleugan to fly v.¹; hence in all these languages the two verbs have been more or less confused together.In Old English the verb was, so far as is known, always strong. The strong past tense and past participle survived in occasional use down to the 15th cent.; but in the 13th cent. the weak past tense fledde , past participle fled(d began to be used, and soon became more common than the earlier forms. Their origin is obscure: normally, they would imply an infinitive flede(n , and one instance of flede infinitive, with the sense ‘to flee’, has been found in 15th cent.; but little stress can be laid on this, on account of the late date, and the possibility that the form may have been invented by the writer for the sake of rhyme, on the analogy of the past tense fledde (for which Caxton has fleded ). Identification with flede v. to flow or flood seems impossible on account of the difference in sense. Some have compared flede with the Dutch form vlieden; but the Dutch practice of inserting a euphonic d in verbs with roots ending in h (as in belijden, wijden, vleiden) is peculiar to that language (first appearing in late Middle Dutch), and has no parallel in English; further, the Dutch verb, in spite of its alteration in form, is still conjugated strong; hence it seems probable that the resemblance between the Dutch and English forms is purely accidental. The resemblance of Middle English fledde to Swedish flydde may possibly be more significant. In Middle Swedish those verbs which, in consequence of contraction, had their present stems ending in a long vowel, formed their past tense in -dde for the earlier -þe; the change, according to Noreen, dates, so far as the spelling is concerned, from about 1350; it may however have occurred much earlier in some East Scandinavian dialect. The supposition that Middle English fledde may be of Scandinavian origin is supported by the fact that the earliest examples are chiefly from writers whose dialect is strongly marked by Scandinavian influence; on the other hand, it occurs as early as 1340 in the Kentish dialect of the Ayenbite. The confusion between the verbs flee and fly occurs already in Old English. In northern dialects the form flee is the normal phonetic descendant both of Old English fléon to flee and of fléoȝan to fly. In modern English the association of the two verbs has the curious result that the ordinary prose equivalent of Latin fugere is fly with past tense and past participle fled (the forms flew, flown have only the sense of Latin volare), while flee has become archaic, being confined to more or less rhetorical or poetic diction. Even fly and fled, indeed, now belong rather to literary than to colloquial English: expressions like ‘run away’ being substituted in familiar speech. Significations. I. intransitive. 1. a. To run away from or as from danger; to take flight; to try to escape or seek safety by flight. Also, to flee away, out, and to flee for it. ΘΚΠ the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > going away > go away [verb (intransitive)] > run away or flee fleec825 afleeeOE atrina1000 atfleec1000 to run awayOE to turn to or into flighta1225 to turn the ridgec1225 atrenc1275 atshakec1275 to give backa1300 flemec1300 startc1330 to take (on oneself) the flighta1500 to take the back upon oneselfa1500 fly1523 to take (also betake) (oneself) to one's legs1530 to flee one's way1535 to take to one's heels1548 flought?1567 fuge1573 to turn taila1586 to run off1628 to take flighta1639 refugea1641 to run for it1642 to take leg1740 to give (also take) leg-bail1751 bail1775 sherry1788 to pull foot1792 fugitate1830 to tail off (out)1830 to take to flight1840 to break (strike, etc.) for (the) tall timber1845 guy1879 to give leg (or legs)1883 rabbit1887 to do a guy1889 high-tail1908 to have it on one's toes1958 c825 [see α. forms]. c1000 West Saxon Gospels: Matt. (Corpus Cambr.) viii. 33 Ða hyrdas witodlice flugon. c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 2775 & swiðe monie þer fluwen [c1300 Otho floȝen] & ferden to Rome. c1325 Coer de L. 2303 Flowen was that fals coward. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 2614 Sco was fain to fle a-wai. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Trin. Cambr.) l. 9213 Þe kyng fley out bi nyȝt. 1489 W. Caxton tr. C. de Pisan Bk. Fayttes of Armes ii. xxxvii. 155 They shall make as they dide flee. c1540 (?a1400) Destr. Troy 10077 The grekes flowen in fere & the feld leuyt. 1559 W. Baldwin et al. Myrroure for Magistrates Mortimer xx For they flewe, I feared them the lesse. 1605 W. Camden Remaines i. 216 One that had in his forehead a bounch of flesh, fledde away a great pase. 1709 R. Steele Tatler No. 80. ⁋3 My Confusion at last was so great, that without speaking, or being spoken to, I fled for it. 1847 G. P. R. James John Marston Hall ix Some of them fled as fast as their legs would carry them. 1884 F. M. Crawford Rom. Singer (1886) I. 90 A hundred women will tell you that they are ready to flee with you. Proverb.a1250 Owl & Nightingale 176 ‘Wel fiȝt that wel fliȝt’, seith the wise.13.. Prov. Hendyng ix, in T. Wright & J. O. Halliwell Reliquiæ Antiquæ (1845) I. 111 ‘Wel fytht, that wel flyth’ Quoth Hendyng. b. Const. †forth of, from, out of. ΚΠ c825 Vesp. Psalter lxvii[i]. 2 Feond his..flen from onsiene his. 1154 Anglo-Saxon Chron. anno 1137 Sume flugen ut of lande. a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 430 Caym fro him fleg. c1450 J. Myrc Instr. to Par. Priests 1681 Ȝef he haue grace in herte to se How aungelus..From hym faste flen. 1549 R. Crowley Voyce Laste Trumpet sig. Aii^v When Elias fled awaye, From Ahab. 1564 N. Haward tr. Eutropius Briefe Chron. vii. sig. M.iiii^v He [sc. Nero] fled forthe of his palace. 1600 W. Shakespeare Henry IV, Pt. 2 ii. iv. 230 The rogue fled from me like quicksiluer. View more context for this quotation 1611 Bible (King James) Job xx. 24 He shall flee from the iron weapon. View more context for this quotation c. Conjugated with be. ΚΠ a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 3396 Get sal ðe kinde of amalech Ben al fled dun in deades wrech. c1330 (?a1300) Sir Tristrem (1886) l. 2223 Tristrem was fled oway. 1480 W. Caxton Chron. Eng. ccxxxii. 250 Whan pyers was fledde oute of spayn. 1535 W. Stewart tr. H. Boethius Bk. Cron. Scotl. (1858) II. 479 And mony freik out of the feild wes fled. 1671 H. M. tr. Erasmus Colloquies 543 He won by an assault a strong defenced Castle, whereinto the Lady great with child was fled. †d. reflexive; also quasi-transitive, to flee one's way. ΘΚΠ the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > going away > go away [verb (reflexive)] > run away to flee one's wayc1275 take?a1425 to betake or smite oneself to flight1490 to set oneself in flight1625–6 the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > going away > go away [verb (intransitive)] > run away or flee fleec825 afleeeOE atrina1000 atfleec1000 to run awayOE to turn to or into flighta1225 to turn the ridgec1225 atrenc1275 atshakec1275 to give backa1300 flemec1300 startc1330 to take (on oneself) the flighta1500 to take the back upon oneselfa1500 fly1523 to take (also betake) (oneself) to one's legs1530 to flee one's way1535 to take to one's heels1548 flought?1567 fuge1573 to turn taila1586 to run off1628 to take flighta1639 refugea1641 to run for it1642 to take leg1740 to give (also take) leg-bail1751 bail1775 sherry1788 to pull foot1792 fugitate1830 to tail off (out)1830 to take to flight1840 to break (strike, etc.) for (the) tall timber1845 guy1879 to give leg (or legs)1883 rabbit1887 to do a guy1889 high-tail1908 to have it on one's toes1958 c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 8024 Ah flih flih þinne wæi. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Fairf. 14) l. 7676 He him fled to samuel. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Gött.) l. 5680 Moyses..fledd him into madian. 1470–85 T. Malory Morte d'Arthur viii. vii Syr Marhaus..fledde his waye. 1535 Bible (Coverdale) Judith xv. 3 The Assirians..kept not them selues together, but fled their waye. 2. a. To hasten for safety or protection (to, †on). ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > safety > make safe or secure [verb (transitive)] > go to for safety fleec825 to draw to warrantc1330 flya1400 to have or make (one's) refuge toa1538 the world > action or operation > safety > protection or defence > refuge or shelter > take refuge or shelter [verb (reflexive)] fleea1400 shroud1553 shadea1586 ensconce1590 refuge1604 shelter1611 engarrison1682 c825 Vesp. Psalter cxlii[i]. 9 Dryhten to ðe ic gefleh. OE Beowulf 764 Mynte se mæra, þær he meahte..on weg þanon fleon on fenhopu. c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 8025 Fleo þider þe þu fleo. 1393 W. Langland Piers Plowman C. iii. 220 Falsnesse for fere þo flegh to þe freres. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 6675 Þof he to mine auter flei. 1535 Bible (Coverdale) Zech. xiv. 5 Ye shall fle vnto the valley of my hilles. 1678 J. Tillotson Serm. (ed. 3) I. 64 We can have..none in all the world to fle [1671 p. 64 flye] to, but Him. 1718 M. Prior Solomon on Vanity iii, in Poems Several Occasions (new ed.) 491 In vain for Life He to the Altar fled. 1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. 176 The Presbyterians..fled to the foot of the throne. 1858 M. Porteous Real Souter Johnny (ed. 2) 30 Or silly mortal blinks an ee To muckle Jupiter ye'll flee. †b. reflexive. Obsolete. ΚΠ a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Gött.) l. 5680 Moyses..fledd him into madian. 1600 P. Holland tr. Livy Rom. Hist. (1609) xliv. vi. 1174 b The king..fled himselfe to Pydna. 1610 J. Healey tr. St. Augustine Citie of God iii. xxxi. 151 But those..either fledde them-selues into such places..or else were brought thether. †c. To have recourse to. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > advantage > usefulness > use (made of things) > recourse > have recourse to [verb (transitive)] fang855 runOE to take to ——?c1225 seeka1300 goc1390 to have (one's or a) recourse toc1405 recourse?a1425 suit1450 to take (also make or make one's) recourse to (also into)c1456 repairc1475 to fall to ——1490 recur1511 to take unto ——1553 flee1563 betake1590 retreat1650 to call on ——1721 devolve1744 to draw upon ——1800 to draw on ——a1817 1563 2nd Tome Homelyes Agst. Idolatry iii, in J. Griffiths Two Bks. Homilies (1859) ii. 220 They..flee to this aunswere, that [etc.]. 1660 F. Brooke tr. V. Le Blanc World Surveyed 270 The servants and others fled to their swords. 3. a. To withdraw hastily, take oneself off, go away. Also with away. Const. from, out of. Also, To swerve from (a commandment); to keep free from (a practice). ΘΚΠ the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > going away > go away [verb (intransitive)] > go away suddenly or hastily fleec825 runOE swervea1225 biwevec1275 skip1338 streekc1380 warpa1400 yerna1400 smoltc1400 stepc1460 to flee (one's) touch?1515 skirr1548 rubc1550 to make awaya1566 lope1575 scuddle1577 scoura1592 to take the start1600 to walk off1604 to break awaya1616 to make off1652 to fly off1667 scuttle1681 whew1684 scamper1687 whistle off1689 brush1699 to buy a brush1699 to take (its, etc.) wing1704 decamp1751 to take (a) French leave1751 morris1765 to rush off1794 to hop the twig1797 to run along1803 scoot1805 to take off1815 speela1818 to cut (also make, take) one's lucky1821 to make (take) tracks (for)1824 absquatulize1829 mosey1829 absquatulate1830 put1834 streak1834 vamoose1834 to put out1835 cut1836 stump it1841 scratch1843 scarper1846 to vamoose the ranch1847 hook1851 shoo1851 slide1859 to cut and run1861 get1861 skedaddle1862 bolt1864 cheese it1866 to do a bunkc1870 to wake snakes1872 bunk1877 nit1882 to pull one's freight1884 fooster1892 to get the (also to) hell out (of)1892 smoke1893 mooch1899 to fly the coop1901 skyhoot1901 shemozzle1902 to light a shuck1905 to beat it1906 pooter1907 to take a run-out powder1909 blow1912 to buzz off1914 to hop it1914 skate1915 beetle1919 scram1928 amscray1931 boogie1940 skidoo1949 bug1950 do a flit1952 to do a scarper1958 to hit, split or take the breeze1959 to do a runner1980 to be (also get, go) ghost1986 society > travel > aspects of travel > departure, leaving, or going away > depart, leave, or go away [verb (intransitive)] > hastily or suddenly fleec825 warpa1400 wringc1400 bolt1575 decamp1751 mog1770 to hop the twig1797 to take (its, etc.) wing1806 to make (take) tracks (for)1824 vamoose1834 fade1848 skedaddle1862 to beat it1906 blow1912 to hop it1914 beetle1919 bug1950 jet1951 society > authority > lack of subjection > be unsubmissive [verb (intransitive)] > break rule or custom fleea1400 transgress1526 c825 Vesp. Psalter cxxxviii[i]. 7 From onsiene ðinre hwider fleom ic. c1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 127 On his ȝuweðe he fleh fro folke to weste. 1297 R. Gloucester's Chron. (1724) 501 Clerkes & lewede, that fram thi seruise wolle fle. c1385 G. Chaucer Legend Good Women Dido. 1307 Ye wol nat fro your wyf thus foule fleene! a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Trin. Cambr.) l. 9816 His hert auȝte bettur breke in þre þen fro his biddyngis to fle. c1440 Partonope 4881 Thys made me vtterly fro yow fleene. 1611 Bible (King James) Gen. xxxi. 27 Wherefore didst thou flee away secretly? View more context for this quotation 1717 A. Pope Eloisa to Abelard in Wks. 424 From the false world in early youth they fled. 1820 J. Keats Eve of St. Agnes in Lamia & Other Poems 104 These lovers fled away into the storm. 1848 A. Jameson Sacred & Legendary Art I. 313 Two years later he fled from society. †b. To depart this life. ΘΚΠ the world > life > death > [verb (intransitive)] forsweltc888 sweltc888 adeadeOE deadc950 wendeOE i-wite971 starveOE witea1000 forfereOE forthfareOE forworthc1000 to go (also depart , pass, i-wite, chare) out of this worldOE queleOE fallOE to take (also nim, underfo) (the) deathOE to shed (one's own) blood?a1100 diec1135 endc1175 farec1175 to give up the ghostc1175 letc1200 aswelta1250 leavea1250 to-sweltc1275 to-worthc1275 to yield (up) the ghost (soul, breath, life, spirit)c1290 finea1300 spilla1300 part?1316 to leese one's life-daysa1325 to nim the way of deathc1325 to tine, leave, lose the sweatc1330 flit1340 trance1340 determinec1374 disperisha1382 to go the way of all the eartha1382 to be gathered to one's fathers1382 miscarryc1387 shut1390 goa1393 to die upa1400 expirea1400 fleea1400 to pass awaya1400 to seek out of lifea1400–50 to sye hethena1400 tinea1400 trespass14.. espirec1430 to end one's days?a1439 decease1439 to go away?a1450 ungoc1450 unlivec1450 to change one's lifea1470 vade1495 depart1501 to pay one's debt to (also the debt of) naturea1513 to decease this world1515 to go over?1520 jet1530 vade1530 to go westa1532 to pick over the perch1532 galpa1535 to die the death1535 to depart to God1548 to go home1561 mort1568 inlaikc1575 shuffle1576 finish1578 to hop (also tip, pitch over, drop off, etc.) the perch1587 relent1587 unbreathe1589 transpass1592 to lose one's breath1596 to make a die (of it)1611 to go offa1616 fail1623 to go out1635 to peak over the percha1641 exita1652 drop1654 to knock offa1657 to kick upa1658 to pay nature her due1657 ghost1666 to march off1693 to die off1697 pike1697 to drop off1699 tip (over) the perch1699 to pass (also go, be called, etc.) to one's reward1703 sink1718 vent1718 to launch into eternity1719 to join the majority1721 demise1727 to pack off1735 to slip one's cable1751 turf1763 to move off1764 to pop off the hooks1764 to hop off1797 to pass on1805 to go to glory1814 sough1816 to hand in one's accounts1817 to slip one's breatha1819 croak1819 to slip one's wind1819 stiffen1820 weed1824 buy1825 to drop short1826 to fall (a) prey (also victim, sacrifice) to1839 to get one's (also the) call1839 to drop (etc.) off the hooks1840 to unreeve one's lifeline1840 to step out1844 to cash, pass or send in one's checks1845 to hand in one's checks1845 to go off the handle1848 to go under1848 succumb1849 to turn one's toes up1851 to peg out1852 walk1858 snuff1864 to go or be up the flume1865 to pass outc1867 to cash in one's chips1870 to go (also pass over) to the majority1883 to cash in1884 to cop it1884 snuff1885 to belly up1886 perch1886 to kick the bucket1889 off1890 to knock over1892 to pass over1897 to stop one1901 to pass in1904 to hand in one's marble1911 the silver cord is loosed1911 pip1913 to cross over1915 conk1917 to check out1921 to kick off1921 to pack up1925 to step off1926 to take the ferry1928 peg1931 to meet one's Maker1933 to kiss off1935 to crease it1959 zonk1968 cark1977 to cark it1979 to take a dirt nap1981 a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Gött.) l. 20262 Hu sal we liue quen þu will fle? 4. To make one's escape, get safely away. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > safety > escape > [verb (intransitive)] atfareOE atcomec1220 atstertc1220 atrouta1250 ascape1250 astart1250 atblenchc1275 scapec1275 aschapec1300 fleec1300 ofscapea1325 escapec1330 overfleea1382 to get awaya1400 slipa1400 starta1400 skiftc1440 eschewc1450 withstartec1460 rida1470 chape1489 to flee (one's) touch?1515 evadea1522 betwynde?1534 to make out1558 outscape1562 outslip1600 to come off1630 c1300 Havelok (Laud) (1868) 1882 Late we nouth thise doges fle. c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) Deeds xvi. 27 Wenynge the boundyn men for to haue fled. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 7755 Þar þai fell þat moght not fle. c1430 J. Lydgate Minor Poems 186 He is a fole that..fled is fro prisoun. 1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost iv. 963 Flie thither whence thou [sc. Satan] fledst. View more context for this quotation 1821 P. B. Shelley Epipsychidion 18 As a hunted deer that could not flee, I..stood at bay. 5. To pass away quicky and suddenly; to disappear, vanish. Also with away. ΘΚΠ the world > physical sensation > sight and vision > invisibility > be or become invisible [verb (intransitive)] > vanish or disappear formeltc893 wendOE witea1000 aworthc1000 fleec1200 fleetc1200 withdraw1297 vanish1303 voidc1374 unkithea1400 startc1405 disappearc1425 disparishc1425 to fall awayc1443 evanish?a1475 vade1495 sinka1500 vade1530 fly1535 fadea1538 melt?1567 dispear1600 relinquish1601 foist1603 dispersea1616 to vanish (melt, etc.) into thin aira1616 dissipate1626 retire1647 evaporate1713 merge1802 illude1820 to foam off1826 dislimn1833 furl1844 to step out1844 evanesce1855 shade1880 wisp1883 to go to the winds1884 walk1898 to do a disappearing act1913 to go west1916 to do (or take) a fade1949 to phase out1970 the world > existence and causation > existence > non-existence > be non-existent [verb (intransitive)] > end or cease to exist tirec725 endOE forfareOE goc1175 fleec1200 to wend awayc1225 diea1240 to-melta1240 to pass awaya1325 flit1340 perishc1350 vanisha1375 decorre1377 cease1382 dispend1393 failc1400 overshakec1425 surcease1439 adrawc1450 fall1523 decease1538 define1562 fleet1576 expire1595 evanish1597 extinguish1599 extirp1606 disappear1623 evaporatea1631 trans-shift1648 annihilate1656 exolve1657 cancela1667 to pass off1699 to burn out, forth1832 spark1845 to die out1853 to come, go, etc. by the board1859 sputter1964 c1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 175 He is fleonde alse shadewe. 1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) Rev. xvi. 20 And ech ijle fley awey and hilles ben not founde. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 12075 And son þe spirit þat was fledd Again come in þat ilk stede. a1525 (c1448) R. Holland Bk. Howlat l. 140 in W. A. Craigie Asloan MS (1925) II. 99 Ye swallowe so swyft..Is forthwart to fle. 1639 P. Massinger Unnaturall Combat v. ii. sig. K4^v Take not thy flight so soone immaculate spirit. Tis fled already. 1714 A. Pope Rape of Lock (new ed.) i. 4 When Woman's transient Breath is fled. 1776 E. Gibbon Decline & Fall I. vii. 199 The animating health and vigour were fled. 1817 P. B. Shelley Laon & Cythna v. xliii. 114 As I approached, the morning's golden mist..fled. 1850 Elder's House 215 Pale flowers, Whose life and bloom are fled. 1886 A. Winchell Walks & Talks in Geol. Field 214 A million of years may flee away before one revolution is completed. 6. Occasionally used for fly v.¹ (= volare). (Often in Shelley.)Examples of the present stem from dialect literature (Scots and northern English) are not given here, as in them flee is the regular form of fly v.¹ In recent instances, the use of flee for fly is chiefly for the sake of rhyme, or to produce a sort of archaistic effect; in older writers it may be due variously to confusion between the two verbs, to adoption of dialectal phrases (esp. in ‘to let flee’), or to a development from sense 5. ΘΚΠ the world > movement > progressive motion > moving with current of air or water > motion in the air > move in the air [verb (intransitive)] > fly (as) with wings fleec1000 flyOE winga1616 c1000 Ælfric Homilies I. 142 Culfran lufiað annysse, and fleoð him floccmælum. a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(1)) (1850) Jer. xlviii. 40 As an egle he shall fleen out. c1400 Mandeville's Trav. (1839) xxii. 238 The tronchouns flen in sprotes and peces. 1553 T. Wilson Arte Rhetorique (1580) 211 He let flee at hym like a Dragon. 1593 W. Shakespeare Venus & Adonis sig. Fiij^v Loues golden arrow at him should haue fled . View more context for this quotation 1605 J. Sylvester tr. G. de S. Du Bartas Deuine Weekes & Wks. ii. ii. 418 Make fast this rope, and then they let it flee. 1612 J. Davies Muses Sacrifice in Wks. (Grosart) II. 75/1 At which forthwith he [the Libard] flees, And piece-meal teares it. 1744 ‘J. Love’ Cricket i. 5 The Youth cries Rub; O Flee, you Ling'rer, Flee! 1816 P. B. Shelley Alastor 25 The boat fled on. a1822 P. B. Shelley Ginevra in Posthumous Poems (1824) 236 The dark arrow fled In the noon. II. transitive. 7. To run away from, hasten away from; to quit abruptly, forsake (a person or place, etc.). ΘΚΠ the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > going away > go away from [verb (transitive)] > go away from suddenly or hurriedly fleeOE to give the bag to1582 fling1588 vamoose1847 jump1875 skip1884 to leave (a person) flat1902 blow1912 scarper1937 OE Andreas (1932) 1538 Wæs him ut myne fleon fealone stream, woldon feore beorgan, to dunscræfum drohtað secan, eorðan ondwist. 1387–8 Petition London Mercers in R. W. Chambers & M. Daunt Bk. London Eng. (1931) 34 Some fledde the Citee for feere. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 14884 He folus þaim and þai him fle. 1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry VI f. xcv Straungers in great nombre fled the land. 1595 W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 3 ii. i. 19 So fled his enemies our valiant father. 1600 W. Shakespeare Henry IV, Pt. 2 i. i. 18 Yong prince Iohn..fled the field. View more context for this quotation 1605 J. Sylvester tr. G. de S. Du Bartas Deuine Weekes & Wks. ii. ii. 386 The more he [sc. a River] flies his source. 1634 T. Herbert Relation Some Yeares Trauaile 3 Vpon better view he feared and fled vs. 1647 C. Cotterell & W. Aylesbury tr. E. C. Davila Hist. Civill Warres France i. 44 He..was forced to flee his Country. 1726 W. R. Chetwood Voy. & Adventures Capt. R. Boyle 130 All his Attendants had fled his Presence. 1801 R. Southey Thalaba II. ix. 183 She fled the place of Tombs. figurative.c1400 Rom. Rose 4786 If thou flee it, it shal flee thee; Folowe it, and folowen shal it thee.a1522 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid (1959) vi. i. 116 Now at the last, that fled ws evir mor, The forther cost of Ital haue we kaucht.1526 W. Bonde Pylgrimage of Perfection iii. sig. gvii All temptacions fledde their holynesse.1816 Ld. Byron Childe Harold: Canto III xxxix. 22 When Fortune fled her spoil'd and favourite child.1882 R. L. Stevenson New Arabian Nights I. 197 Sleep continued to flee him. 8. In weaker sense: To avoid with dread or dislike; to eschew, shun. Occasionally in passive; also †with infinitive as object. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > inaction > not doing > abstaining or refraining from action > abstain or refrain from (action) [verb (transitive)] > avoid or shun overboweOE bibughOE fleea1000 forbowa1000 ashun1000 befleec1000 beflyc1175 bischunc1200 withbuwe?c1225 waive1303 eschew1340 refuse1357 astartc1374 sparec1380 shuna1382 void1390 declinea1400 forbeara1400 shurna1400 avoidc1450 umbeschewc1485 shewe1502 evite1503 devoid1509 shrink1513 schew?a1534 devite1549 fly1552 abstract1560 evitate1588 estrange1613 cut1791 shy1802 skulk1835 side-slip1930 to walk away from1936 punt1969 a1000 Boeth. Metr. (Gr.) vii. 30 He sceal swiðe flion þisse worulde wlite. c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 8056 Þa flæh i childess cosstess. c1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 127 He fleȝ here ferrede. a1340 R. Rolle Psalter i. 1 His verray lufers folous him fleand honur. c1386 G. Chaucer Monk's Tale 265 Fro hir childhod..sche fledde Office of wommen. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Gött.) l. 1952 Fle falshed and theft. a1400 Cato's Distichs (Fairf.) l. 55 in R. Morris Cursor Mundi (1878) III. App. iv. 1670 (MED) Fle to take wife..bot ho be honest. c1400 Lanfranc's Cirurg. 59 A wood hound fleeþ mete & water. c1450 Jacob's Well (1900) 100 An angry man..owyth to be fled as a raveynous dogge. 1550 R. Crowley One & Thyrtye Epigrammes sig. Cii Auoid and fle dice. 1563 2nd Tome Homelyes Agst. Idolatry iii, in J. Griffiths Two Bks. Homilies (1859) ii. 230 Aungels flee to take vnto them by sacrelege the honoure dewe to God. 1766 J. Fordyce Serm. Young Women (ed. 2) II. xi. 159 Flee them, my fair pupils, flee them with horror. 1819 P. B. Shelley Rosalind & Helen 5 I would flee Thy tainting touch. 9. To contrive to avoid, save oneself from, escape from, evade. Now rare. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > safety > escape > escape from [verb (transitive)] > contrive to escape or evade fleec1175 shunc1275 forgoc1305 passc1330 escapea1340 beglidea1350 voidc1380 shuntc1400 missa1522 evade1535 delude1536 to dally out1548 illude1553 prevent1598 outruna1616 to fail of1624 elude1634 subterfugea1643 shoot1685 shift1724 to get out of ——a1817 win by…1816 c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 9803 Hu þeȝȝ mihhtenn fleon. Drihhtiness irre. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Fairf. 14) l. 22503 For to flee þe dai of awe. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 3001 Your harm sa wend i best to fle. 1570 J. Foxe Actes & Monumentes (rev. ed.) I. 161/2 I..haue long fleene the handes of myne enemies. 1820 P. B. Shelley Prometheus Unbound i. i. 58 On Death's white and winged steed, Which the fleetest cannot flee. This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1896; most recently modified version published online March 2022). < n.c1560v.c825
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† fleen.

fleev.