Etymograph

English

fly

Fly comes from Middle English fflye, from Old English flēge ‘a fly’, from Proto-Germanic *fleugǭ ‘flying insect’, ultimately from PIE *plew-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*plew-1‘to fly, flow, run’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*plewk-1‘to fly, flow; to splash’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*fleuganą1‘to fly’reconstructed
  4. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*fleugǭ1‘flying insect, fly’reconstructed
  5. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*fleugā1‘fly’reconstructed
  6. Old Englishc. 450–1150flēge1‘a fly’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500fflye1
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1610fly1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English fly
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1610, Ben[jamin] Jonson: “a trifling fly, none of your great familiars”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*plew-Wiktionary, English fly‘to fly, flow, run’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*plewk-Wiktionary, English fly‘to fly, flow; to splash’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*fleuganąWiktionary, English fly‘to fly’reconstructed
  4. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*fleugǭWiktionary, English fly‘flying insect, fly’reconstructed
  5. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*fleugāWiktionary, English fly‘fly’reconstructed
  6. Old Englishc. 450–1150flēgeWiktionary, English fly‘a fly’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500fflyeWiktionary, English fly
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1610flyWiktionary, English fly. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1610, Ben[jamin] Jonson: “a trifling fly, none of your great familiars”

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Another origin of fly

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*plew-‘to flow, fly, run’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*plewk-‘to flow, fly, run’reconstructedenlargement of *plew-
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*fleuganą‘to fly’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*fleugan‘to fly’reconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150flēgan
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500flei
  7. Englishtodayfly

Another origin of fly

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*plew-‘flow’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*plewk-‘to fly, flow, run’reconstructedenlargement of *plew-
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*fleuganą‘to fly’reconstructed
  4. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*flugiz‘flight, flying’next step skipped: Old English flēogan
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150flyġe‘flying, flight’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500flye‘flying, flight’
  7. Englishtodayfly

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Today it means

noun Any insect of the order Diptera; characterized by having two wings (except for some wingless species), also called true flies.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “fly”. 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 *plew- / fly