Etymograph

English

flee

Flee comes from Middle English flen ‘to flee’, and perhaps goes back to Proto-Indo-European *plewk- ‘to fly, flow, run’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*plewk-1‘to fly, flow, run’uncertain
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*fleuhaną1‘to flee’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*fleuhan1‘to flee’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150flēon1‘to flee’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500flen1‘to flee’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1611flee1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English flee
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1611, The Holy Bible, London: […] Robert Barker: “The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*plewk-Wiktionary, English flee‘to fly, flow, run’uncertain
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*fleuhanąWiktionary, English flee‘to flee’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*fleuhanWiktionary, English flee‘to flee’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150flēonWiktionary, English flee‘to flee’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500flenWiktionary, English flee‘to flee’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1611fleeWiktionary, English flee. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1611, The Holy Bible, London: […] Robert Barker: “The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the…”

The story

Within English, related to fly and more distantly to flow.

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *plewk- ‘to fly, flow, run’

fly, flown, flew, flock, fowler, fowl, floss, fogle, 9 more

through Middle English flen ‘to flee’

flay, 1 more

Today it means

verb To run away; to escape.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “flee”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *plewk- / flee

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