FLYING

flying, quick, fast

(adjective) hurried and brief; “paid a flying visit”; “took a flying glance at the book”; “a quick inspection”; “a fast visit”

flying, fast-flying

(adjective) moving swiftly; “fast-flying planes”; “played the difficult passage with flying fingers”

flight, flying

(noun) an instance of traveling by air; “flying was still an exciting adventure for him”

Source: WordNet® 3.1

Etymology 1

Adjective

flying (not comparable)

That flies or can fly.

Brief or hurried.

(nautical, of a sail) Not secured by yards.

Verb

flying

present participle of fly

Etymology 2

Noun

flying (countable and uncountable, plural flyings)

(countable) An act of flight.

(uncountable) The action or process of sustained motion through the air.

Anagrams

• flingy

Source: Wiktionary

Fly"ing, a. Etym: [From Fly, v. i.]

Definition: Moving in the air with, or as with, wings; moving lightly or rapidly; intended for rapid movement.

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 (Zoöl.), a young female kangaroo.

– Flying dragon. (a) (Zoöl.) 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. (Zoöl.) See Flying fish, in the Vocabulary.

– Flying fox (Zoöl.), the colugo.

– Flying frog (Zoöl.), an East Indian tree frog of the genus Rhacophorus, having very large and broadly webbed feet, which serve as parachutes, and enable it to make very long leaps.

– Flying gurnard (Zoöl.), 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. (Zoöl.) See Colugo.

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

– Flying lizard. (Zoöl.) See Dragon, n, 6.

– Flying machine, an apparatus for navigating the air; a form of balloon.

– Flying mouse (Zoöl.), the opossum mouse (Acrobates pygmæus), of Australia.

Note: It has lateral folds of skin, like the flying squirrels.

– Flying party (Mil.), a body of soldiers detailed to hover about an enemy.

– Flying phalanger (Zoöl.), 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 (B. sciureus), and the ariel (B. 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. (Zoöl.) See Ballooning spider.

– Flying squid (Zoöl.), an oceanic squid (Ommastrephes, or 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 (Zoöl.) 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.

FLY

Fly, v. i. [imp. Flew; p. p. Flown; p. pr. & vb. n. Flying.] Etym: [OE. fleen, fleen, fleyen, flegen, AS. fleógan; akin to D. vliegen, ONG. 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.]

1. To move in or pass thorugh 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.

3. To float, wave, or rise in the air, as sparks or a flag. Man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward. Job v. 7.

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. Fly, envious Time, till thou run out thy race. Milton. The dark waves murmured as the ships flew on. Bryant.

5. To run from danger; to attempt to escape; to flee; as, an enemy or a coward flies. See Note under Flee. Fly, ere evil intercept thy flight. Milton. Whither shall I fly to escape their hands Shak.

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. 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.

1. To cause to fly or to float in the air, as a bird, a kite, a flag, etc. The brave black flag I fly. W. S. Gilbert.

2. To fly or flee from; to shun; to avoid. Sleep flies the wretch. Dryden. To fly the favors of so good a king. Shak.

3. To hunt with a hawk. [Obs.] Bacon. To fly a kite (Com.), to raise money on commercial notes. [Cant or Slang]

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

1. (Zoöl.) (a) Any winged insect; esp., one with transparent wings; as, the Spanish fly; firefly; gall fly; dragon fly. (b) Any dipterous insect; as, the house fly; flesh fly; black fly. See Diptera, and Illust. in Append.

2. A hook dressed in imitation of a fly, -- used for fishing. "The fur-wrought fly." Gay.

3. A familiar spirit; a witch's attendant. [Obs.] A trifling fly, none of your great familiars. B. Jonson.

4. A parasite. [Obs.] Massinger.

5. A kind of light carriage for rapid transit, plying for hire and usually drawn by one horse. [Eng.]

6. The length of an extended flag from its staff; sometimes, the length from the "union" to the extreme end.

7. The part of a vane pointing the direction from which the wind blows.

8. (Naut.)

Definition: That part of a compass on which the points are marked; the compass card. Totten.

9. (Mech.) (a) 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. (b) A heavy wheel, or cross arms with weights at the ends on a revolving axis, to regulate or equalize the motion of machinery by means of its inertia, where the power communicated, or the resistance to be overcome, is variable, as in the steam engine or the coining press. See Fly wheel (below).

10. (Knitting Machine)

Definition: The piece hinged to the needle, which holds the engaged loop in position while the needle is penetrating another loop; a latch. Knight.

11. The pair of arms revolving around the bobbin, in a spinning wheel or spinning frame, to twist the yarn.

12. (Weaving)

Definition: A shuttle driven through the shed by a blow or jerk. Knight.

13. (a) Formerly, the person who took the printed sheets from the press. (b) A vibrating frame with fingers, attached to a power to a power printing press for doing the same work.

14. 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.

15. One of the upper screens of a stage in a theater.

16. The fore flap of a bootee; also, a lap on trousers, overcoats, etc., to conceal a row of buttons.

17. (Baseball)

Definition: 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. 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. Walton.

– 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..

Fly, a.

Definition: Knowing; wide awake; fully understanding another's meaning. [Slang] Dickens.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition

FLYING

Etymology 1

Adjective

Verb

Etymology 2

Noun

Anagrams

FLY

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