fledge

Alternative forms

• flidge, flitch, flish, flig, flush

Etymology

From Middle English flegge, fligge, flygge, from Old English *flyċġe (“able to fly, fledged”) (attested in *unflyċġe, unfligge (“unfledged”)), from Proto-Germanic *flugjaz (“able to fly, fledged”), from Proto-Indo-European *plewk- (“to run, flow, be swift, flee, fly”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /flɛdʒ/
• Rhymes: -ɛdʒ

Verb

fledge (third-person singular simple present fledges, present participle fledging, simple past and past participle fledged)

1. (transitive) To care for a young bird until it is capable of flight.
2. (intransitive) To grow, cover or be covered with feathers.
3. (transitive) To decorate with feathers.
4. (intransitive) To complete the last moult and become a winged adult insect.

Adjective

fledge (not comparable)

1. (archaic) Feathered; furnished with feathers or wings; able to fly.
   • Milton

     his shoulders, fledge with wings