Etymograph

English

flying

Flying comes from Middle English fleynge, from Old English flēogende, present participle of flēogan ‘to fly’, from Proto-Germanic *fleuganą ‘to fly’.

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*fleuganą1‘to fly’reconstructed
  2. Old Englishc. 450–1150flēogan1‘to fly’
  3. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500fleynge1
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1836flying1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English flying
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1836, Lysander Spooner, Boston: “Matthew (26—6 to 13), Mark (14—3 to 9), and…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*fleuganąWiktionary, English flying‘to fly’reconstructed
  2. Old Englishc. 450–1150flēoganWiktionary, English flying‘to fly’
  3. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500fleyngeWiktionary, English flying
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1836flyingWiktionary, English flying. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1836, Lysander Spooner, Boston: “Matthew (26—6 to 13), Mark (14—3 to 9), and…”

Explore everything descended from *fleuganą →

Another origin of flying

  1. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500flyinge
  2. Englishtodayflying

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Today it means

adj That flies or can fly.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “flying”. 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-Germanic *fleuganą / flying