FLEETING

fleeting, fugitive, momentaneous, momentary

(adjective) lasting for a markedly brief time; “a fleeting glance”; “fugitive hours”; “rapid momentaneous association of things that meet and pass”; “a momentary glimpse”

Source: WordNet® 3.1

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Etymology

Adjective

fleeting (comparative more fleeting, superlative most fleeting)

Passing quickly; of short duration.

Synonyms

• ephemeral

• See also ephemeral.

Usage notes

Often used with nouns indicating mental, perceptual, or emotional states, such as: "a fleeting thought", "a fleeting glimpse" "a fleeting impression", "a fleeting hope", or to indicate that the shortness of duration might be regretted : "fleeting beauty", "fleeting youth".

Verb

fleeting

present participle of fleet

Source: Wiktionary

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Fleet"ing, a.

Definition: Passing swiftly away; not durable; transient; transitory; as, the fleeting hours or moments.

Syn.

– Evanescent; ephemeral. See Transient.

FLEET

Fleet, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Fleeted; p. pr. & vb. n. Fleeting.] Etym: [OE. fleten, fleoten, to swim, AS. fleótan to swim, float; akin to D. vlieten to flow, OS. fliotan, OHG. fliozzan, G. fliessen, Icel. fljota to float, flow, Sw. flyta, D. flyde, L. pluere to rain, Gr. plu to swim, sail. sq. root84. Cf. Fleet, n. & a., Float, Pluvial, Flow.]

1. To sail; to float. [Obs.] And in frail wood on Adrian Gulf doth fleet. Spenser.

2. To fly swiftly; to pass over quickly; to hasten; to flit as a light substance. All the unaccomplished works of Nature's hand, . . . Dissolved on earth, fleet hither. Milton.

3. (Naut.)

Definition: To slip on the whelps or the barrel of a capstan or windlass; - - said of a cable or hawser.

Fleet, v. t.

1. To pass over rapidly; to skin the surface of; as, a ship that fleets the gulf. Spenser.

2. To hasten over; to cause to pass away lighty, or in mirth and joy. Many young gentlemen flock to him, and fleet the time carelessly. Shak.

3. (Naut.) (a) To draw apart the blocks of; -- said of a tackle. Totten. (b) To cause to slip down the barrel of a capstan or windlass, as a rope or chain.

Fleet, a. [Compar. Fleeter; superl. Fleetest.] Etym: [Cf. Icel. flj quick. See Fleet, v. i.]

1. Swift in motion; moving with velocity; light and quick in going from place to place; nimble. In mail their horses clad, yet fleet and strong. Milton.

2. Light; superficially thin; not penetring deep, as soil. [Prov. Eng.] Mortimer.

Fleet, n. Etym: [OE. flete, fleote, AS. fleót ship, fr. fleótan to float, swim. See Fleet, v. i. and cf. Float.]

Definition: A number of vessels in company, especially war vessels; also, the collective naval force of a country, etc. Fleet captain, the senior aid of the admiral of a fleet, when a captain. Ham. Nav. Encyc.

Fleet, n. Etym: [AS. fleót a place where vessels float, bay, river; akin to D. vliet rill, brook, G. fliess. See Fleet, v. i.]

1. A flood; a creek or inlet; a bay or estuary; a river; -- obsolete, except as a place name, -- as Fleet Street in London. Together wove we nets to entrap the fish In floods and sedgy fleets. Matthewes.

2. A former prison in London, which originally stood near a stream, the Fleet (now filled up). Fleet parson, a clergyman of low character, in, or in the vicinity of, the Fleet prison, who was ready to unite persons in marriage (called Fleet marriage) at any hour, without public notice, witnesses, or consent of parents.

Fleet, v. t. Etym: [AS. flet cream, fr. fleótan to float. See Fleet, v. i.]

Definition: To take the cream from; to skim. [Prov. Eng.] Johnson.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition

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