fledgling
noun /ˈfledʒlɪŋ/
/ˈfledʒlɪŋ/
(British English also fledgeling)
- a young bird that has just learnt to fly
- (usually before another noun) a person, an organization or a system that is new and without experience
- fledgling democracies
Word Originmid 19th cent.: from the obsolete adjective fledge ‘ready to fly’, from Old English, of Germanic origin; on the pattern of nestling.