Fly

• POS: Noun, Verb (usu participle), Verb (transitive), Verb (intransitive), Adjective

CIDE DICTIONARY

Fly, v. i. [OE. fleen, fleen, fleyen, flegen, AS. fleógan; akin to D. vliegen, OHG. fliogan, G. fliegen, Icel. flj, Sw. flyga, Dan. flyve, Goth. us-flaugjan to cause to fly away, blow about, and perh. to L. pluma feather, E. plume. Fledge, Flight, Flock of animals.].

•  To move in or pass through the air with wings, as a bird.
•  To move through the air or before the wind; esp., to pass or be driven rapidly through the air by any impulse.  [1913 Webster]
•  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."  [1913 Webster]
•  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."  [1913 Webster]

  "The dark waves murmured as the ships flew on."  [1913 Webster]
•  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."  [1913 Webster]

  "Whither shall I fly to escape their hands ?"  [1913 Webster]
•  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.

Fly, v. t. 

•  To cause to fly or to float in the air, as a bird, a kite, a flag, etc.  [1913 Webster]

  "The brave black flag I fly."  [1913 Webster]
•  To fly or flee from; to shun; to avoid.  [1913 Webster]

  "Sleep flies the wretch."  [1913 Webster]

  "To fly the favors of so good a king."  [1913 Webster]
•  To hunt with a hawk.  Bacon.  [1913 Webster]
•  To manage (an aircraft) in flight; as, to fly an aëroplane.  [Webster 1913 Suppl.]

To fly a kite (Com.), to raise money on commercial notes. [Cant or Slang]

Fly, n. [OE. flie, flege, AS. fl, fleóge, fr. fleógan to fly; akin to D. vlieg, OHG. flioga, G. fliege, Icel. & Sw. fluga, Dan. flue. Fly, v. i.].

•  Any winged insect; esp., one with transparent wings; as, the Spanish fly; firefly; gall fly; dragon fly.  [1913 Webster]
•  A hook dressed in imitation of a fly, -- used for fishing.  Gay.  [1913 Webster]
•  A familiar spirit; a witch's attendant.  [1913 Webster]

  "A trifling fly, none of your great familiars."  [1913 Webster]
•  A parasite.  Massinger.  [1913 Webster]
•  A kind of light carriage for rapid transit, plying for hire and usually drawn by one horse.  [1913 Webster]
•  The length of an extended flag from its staff; sometimes, the length from the “union” to the extreme end.  [1913 Webster]
•  The part of a vane pointing the direction from which the wind blows.  [1913 Webster]
•  That part of a compass on which the points are marked; the compass card.  Totten.  [1913 Webster]
•  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.  [1913 Webster]
•  The piece hinged to the needle, which holds the engaged loop in position while the needle is penetrating another loop; a latch.  Knight.  [1913 Webster]
•  The pair of arms revolving around the bobbin, in a spinning wheel or spinning frame, to twist the yarn.  [1913 Webster]
•  A shuttle driven through the shed by a blow or jerk.  Knight.  [1913 Webster]
•  Formerly, the person who took the printed sheets from the press.  [1913 Webster]
•  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.  [1913 Webster]
•  One of the upper screens of a stage in a theater.  [1913 Webster]
•  The fore flap of a bootee; also, a lap on trousers, overcoats, etc., to conceal a row of buttons.  [1913 Webster]
•  A batted ball that flies to a considerable distance, usually high in the air; also, the flight of a ball so struck; as, it was caught on the fly. Also called fly ball.  [1913 Webster]
•  Waste cotton.  [Webster 1913 Suppl.]

Black fly, Cheese fly, Dragon fly, etc. See under Black, Cheese, 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 (Zoöl.), an American bird (Phainopepla nitens), allied to the chatterers and shrikes. The male is glossy blue-black; the female brownish gray. -- 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 Fly, n., 9. -- On the fly (Baseball), still in the air; -- said of a batted ball caught before touching the ground.<-- (b) at the moment needed, without prior preparation. -- said of objects created as needed in the course of some activity, rather than having been prepared before the activity began. A term Much used in computer programming. (c) busy; in motion.-->.

Fly, a. 

 Knowing; wide awake; fully understanding another's meaning.  Dickens.  [1913 Webster]