Fly

v. i. [imp. FLEW; p. p. FLOWN; p. pr. & vb. n. FLYING.] [A-S. fleógan, Fries. flūga, O. H. Ger. fliojan, fiugan, N. H. Ger. fliegen, M. H. Ger. & D. vliegen, Icel. fljúga, Sw. flyga, Dan. flyve.]

1. To move in the air with wings, as a bird.
2. To float or move in the air, as the clouds, the sparks, or a flag.
3. To move with rapidity like a bird; to hasten away; as, a ship flies on the deep; a top flies around; time flies.

Fly, envious Time, till thou run out thy race. Milton. 4. To run away from danger or alarm; to attempt to escape; to flee; as, an enemy or a coward flies. To fly from, need not be to hate, mankind. Byron. 5. To move suddenly, or with violence; to part; to burst in pieces;—usually with a qualifying word; as, a door flies open; a bomb flies apart. Flying Dutchman (Naut.), a phantom ship, supposed to cruise in storms off the Cape of Good Hope. The origin of the superstition is probably the image of some ship out of sight, reflected from clouds. W. Irving.—To come off with flying colors, to be successful or triumphant.—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 fall upon 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 depart suddenly; to revolt.—To fly on, to attack.—To fly open, to open suddenly, or with violence; as, the doors flew open.—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; as, to let fly a shower of darts. “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. Totten.

n. [A-S. flēoge, from flēogan, to fly; O. H. Ger. fliegâ, fleogâ, fliugâ, N. H. Ger. fliege, M. H. Ger. vliege, D. vlieg, Icel. & Sw. fluga, Dan. flue.]

1. (Entom.) A winged insect of various species, whose distinguishing characteristic is that the wings are transparent; especially, the house fly, the Musca domestica. The black fly and sand fly are species of the genus Simulium.
2. A hook dressed with silk, woolen, &c., in imitation of a fly, used for fishing. “The fur-wrought fly.” Gay.
3. A familiar spirit. [Obs.]

A rifling fly, none of your great familiars. B. Jonson.

4. A parasite. [Obs.] Massinger.
5. A kind of light carriage for rapid motion. [England.] C. Kingsley.
6. That part of a flag which extends from the union to the extreme end. Totten.
7. (Naut.) That part of a compass on which the points are marked; the compass-card. Totten.
8. (Mech.) 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; also, a heavy wheel, or cross-arms with weights at the ends, 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.
9. (Print.) (a.) One who takes the sheets from the press. (b.) That part of a power-printing press which receives the printed sheet and lays it aside.