FLY, v.i.

1. In zoology, a winged insect of various species, whose distinguishing characteristic is that the wings are transparent. By this flies are distinguished from beetles, butterflies, grasshoppers, &c. Of flies, some have two wings and others four. – Encyc. In common language, fly is the house fly, of the genus Musca.
2. In mechanics, a cross with leaden weights at the ends, or a heavy wheel at right angles with the axis of a windlass, jack or the like. The use of this is, to regulate and equalize the motion in all parts of the revolution of the machine. – Encyc.
3. That part of a vane which points and shows which way the wind blows.
4. The extent of an ensign, flag or pendant from the staff to the end that flutters loose in the wind. – Mar. Dict.

1. To move through air by the aid of wings, as fowls.
2. To pass or move in air, by the force of wind or other impulse; as, clouds and vapors fly before the wind. A ball flies from a cannon, an arrow from a bow.
3. To rise in air, as light substances, by means of a current of air, or by having less specific gravity than air, as smoke. Man is born to trouble, as the sparks fly upward. Job v.
4. To move or pass with velocity or celerity, either on land or water. He flew to the relief of his distressed friend. The ship flies upon the main.
5. To move rapidly, in any manner; as, a top flies about.
6. To pass away; to depart; with the idea of haste, swiftness or escape. The bird has flown.
7. To pass rapidly, as time. Swift fly the fleeting hours.
8. To part suddenly or with violence; to burst, as a bottle. Swift.
9. To spring by an elastic force.
10. To pass swiftly, as rumor or report.
11. To flee; to run away; to attempt to escape; to escape. I'll fly from shepherds, flocks, and flowery plains. – Pope.
12. To flutter; to vibrate or play; as a flag in the wind. To fly at, to spring toward; to rush on; to fall on suddenly. A hen flies at a dog or cat; a dog flies at a man. To fly in the face, to insult. #2. To assail; to resist; to set at defiance; to oppose with violence; to act in direct opposition. To fly off, to separate or depart suddenly. #2. To revolt. To fly open, to open suddenly or with violence; as, the doors flew open. To fly out, to rush out; also, to burst into a passion. #2. To break out into license. #3. To start or issue with violence from any direction. To let fly, to discharge; to throw or drive with violence; as, to let fly a shower of darts. #2. In seamanship, to let go suddenly. Let fly the sheets.

1. To shun; to avoid; to decline; as, to fly the sight of one we hate. That is, primarily, to flee from. Sleep flies the wretch. – Dryden.
2. To quit by flight.
3. To attack by a bird of prey. [Not used.] – Bacon.
4. To cause to float in the air.

1. To move in or pass through the air with wings, as a bird.
2. To cause to fly or to float in the air, as a bird, a kite, a flag, etc.
   
   

   The brave black flag I fly. W. S. Gilbert.

3. Any winged insect; esp., one with transparent wings; as, the Spanish fly; firefly; gall fly; dragon fly.
   
   
   (b)
4. Knowing; wide awake; fully understanding another's meaning.
   
   
   [Slang] Dickens.
5. To manage (an aircraft) in flight; as, to fly an aëroplane.
6. Waste cotton.
7. To move through the air or before the wind; esp., to pass or be driven rapidly through the air by any impulse.
8. To fly or flee from; to shun; to avoid.
   
   

   Sleep flies the wretch. Dryden.

   To fly the favors of so good a king. Shak.

9. A hook dressed in imitation of a fly, -- used for fishing.
   
   
   "The fur-wrought fly." Gay.
10. To float, wave, or rise in the air, as sparks or a flag.
    
    

    Man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward. Job v. 7.

11. To hunt with a hawk.
    
    
    [Obs.] Bacon.

    To fly a kite (Com.), to raise money on commercial notes. [Cant or Slang]

12. A familiar spirit; a witch's attendant.
    
    
    [Obs.]

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

13. To move or pass swiftly; to hasten away; to circulate rapidly; as, a ship flies on the deep; a top flies around; rumor flies.
    
    

    Fly, envious Time, till thou run out thy race. Milton.

    The dark waves murmured as the ships flew on. Bryant.

14. A parasite.
    
    
    [Obs.] Massinger.
15. To run from danger; to attempt to escape; to flee; as, an enemy or a coward flies. See Note under Flee.
    
    

    Fly, ere evil intercept thy flight. Milton.

    Whither shall I fly to escape their hands ? Shak.

16. A kind of light carriage for rapid transit, plying for hire and usually drawn by one horse.
    
    
    [Eng.]
17. To move suddenly, or with violence; to do an act suddenly or swiftly; -- usually with a qualifying word; as, a door flies open; a bomb flies apart.
    
    

    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 attack 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 become detached suddenly; to revolt. -- To fly on, to attack. -- To fly open, to open suddenly, or with violence. -- 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. "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.

18. The length of an extended flag from its staff; sometimes, the length from the "union" to the extreme end.
19. The part of a vane pointing the direction from which the wind blows.
20. That part of a compass on which the points are marked; the compass card.
    
    
    Totten.
21. 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.
    
    
    (b)
22. The piece hinged to the needle, which holds the engaged loop in position while the needle is penetrating another loop; a latch.
    
    
    Knight.
23. The pair of arms revolving around the bobbin, in a spinning wheel or spinning frame, to twist the yarn.
24. A shuttle driven through the shed by a blow or jerk.
    
    
    Knight.
25. Formerly, the person who took the printed sheets from the press.
    
    
    (b)
26. The outer canvas of a tent with double top, usually drawn over the ridgepole, but so extended as to touch the roof of the tent at no other place.
27. One of the upper screens of a stage in a theater.
28. The fore flap of a bootee; also, a lap on trousers, overcoats, etc., to conceal a row of buttons.
29. A batted ball that flies to a considerable distance, usually high in the air, also called a fly ball; also, the flight of a ball so struck; as, it was caught on the fly.
    
    

    Black fly, Cheese fly, Dragon fly, etc. See under Black, Cheese, etc. -- Fly agaric (Bot.), a mushroom (Agaricus muscarius), having a narcotic juice which, in sufficient quantities, is poisonous. -- Fly block (Naut.), a pulley whose position shifts to suit the working of the tackle with which it is connected; -- used in the hoisting tackle of yards. -- Fly board (Printing Press), the board on which printed sheets are deposited by the fly. -- Fly book, a case in the form of a book for anglers' flies. Kingsley. -- Fly cap, a cap with wings, formerly worn by women. -- Fly drill, a drill having a reciprocating motion controlled by a fly wheel, the driving power being applied by the hand through a cord winding in reverse directions upon the spindle as it rotates backward and forward. Knight. -- Fly fishing, the act or art of angling with a bait of natural or artificial flies. Walton. -- Fly flap, an implement for killing flies. -- Fly governor, a governor for regulating the speed of an engine, etc., by the resistance of vanes revolving in the air. -- Fly honeysuckle (Bot.), a plant of the honeysuckle genus (Lonicera), having a bushy stem and the flowers in pairs, as L. ciliata and L. Xylosteum. -- Fly hook, a fishhook supplied with an artificial fly. -- Fly leaf, an unprinted leaf at the beginning or end of a book, circular, programme, etc. -- Fly maggot, a maggot bred from the egg of a fly. Ray. -- Fly net, a screen to exclude insects. -- Fly nut (Mach.), a nut with wings; a thumb nut; a finger nut. -- Fly orchis (Bot.), a plant (Ophrys muscifera), whose flowers resemble flies. - - Fly paper, poisoned or sticky paper for killing flies that feed upon or are entangled by it. -- Fly powder, an arsenical powder used to poison flies. -- Fly press, a screw press for punching, embossing, etc., operated by hand and having a heavy fly. -- Fly rail, a bracket which turns out to support the hinged leaf of a table. -- Fly rod, a light fishing rod used in angling with a fly. -- Fly sheet, a small loose advertising sheet; a handbill. -- Fly snapper (Zoöl.), an American bird (Phainopepla nitens), allied to the chatterers and shrikes. The male is glossy blue-black; the female brownish gray. -- Fly wheel (Mach.), a heavy wheel attached to machinery to equalize the movement (opposing any sudden acceleration by its inertia and any retardation by its momentum), and to accumulate or give out energy for a variable or intermitting resistance. See Fly, n., 9. -- On the fly (Baseball), still in the air; -- said of a batted ball caught before touching the ground..