▪ I. † flee, n. Obs.
[f. next vb.]
Flight.
| c 1560 A. Scott Poems (E.E.T.S.) 10 And all the feild cryd, fy on him! Sa cowartly tuk the fle for fer. |
▪ II. flee, v.
(fliː)
Pa. tense and pa. pple. fled (flɛd). Forms: see below.
[A Com. Teut. originally str. vb.: OE. fléon (fléah, fluᵹon, floᵹen) = OFris. flîa, OS. fliohan (MDu. vlîen, pa. tense vlô, later MDu. and mod.Du. vlieden, pa. tense vlood, pa. pple. vloden), OHG. fliohan (MHG. vliehen, mod.Ger. fliehen), ON. fl{yacu}a, fl{yacu}ja (with -jo- suffix in pres. stem), str. pa. tense fló, flugom, more commonly inflected weak, pa. tense fl{yacu}ða, pa. pple. fl{yacu}iðr (Sw. fly, pa. tense flydde, Da. flye, pa. tense flyede), Goth. þliuhan:—OTeut. *þleuhan (inflected þlauh, þlugum, þlogono-). The root (pre-Teut. *tleuk-) has not been found outside Teut. As the original initial þ has become f in all the Teut. langs. exc. Gothic, those forms of the vb. which according to Verner's law change h into g came to coincide with the corresponding forms of *fleugan to fly; hence in all these langs. the two vbs. have been more or less confused together.
In OE. the vb. was, so far as is known, always strong. The str. pa. tense and pa. pple. survived in occasional use down to the 15th c.; but in the 13th c. the weak pa. tense fledde, pa. pple. fled(d began to be used, and soon became more common than the earlier forms. Their origin is obscure: normally, they would imply an inf. flede(n, and one instance of flede inf., with the sense ‘to flee’, has been found in 15th c.; but little stress can be laid on this, on account of the late date, and the possibility that the form may have been invented by the writer for the sake of rime, on the analogy of the pa. tense fledde (for which Caxton has fleded). Identification with flede to flow or flood seems impossible on account of the difference in sense. Some have compared flede with the Du. form vlieden; but the Du. practice of inserting a euphonic d in vbs. with roots ending in h (as in belijden, wijden, vleiden) is peculiar to that lang. (first appearing in late MDu.), and has no parallel in Eng.; further, the Du. vb., in spite of its alteration in form, is still conjugated strong; hence it seems probable that the resemblance between the Du. and Eng. forms is purely accidental. The resemblance of ME. fledde to Sw. flydde may possibly be more significant. In MSw. those vbs. which, in consequence of contraction, had their present stems ending in a long vowel, formed their past tense in -dde for the earlier -þe; the change, according to Noreen, dates, so far as the spelling is concerned, from about 1350; it may however have occurred much earlier in some East Scandinavian dialect. The supposition that ME. fledde may be of Scandinavian origin is supported by the fact that the earliest examples are chiefly from writers whose dialect is strongly marked by Scandinavian influence; on the other hand, it occurs as early as 1340 in the Kentish dialect of the Ayenbite.
The confusion between the vbs. flee and fly occurs already in OE. In northern dialects the form flee is the normal phonetic descendant both of OE. fléon to flee and of fléoȝan to fly. In mod.Eng. the association of the two vbs. has the curious result that the ordinary prose equivalent of L. fugere is fly with pa. tense and pa. pple. fled (the forms flew, flown have only the sense of L. volare), while flee has become archaic, being confined to more or less rhetorical or poetic diction. Even fly and fled, indeed, now belong rather to literary than to colloquial English: expressions like ‘run away’ being substituted in familiar speech.]
A. Forms.
1. Present stem.
(α) 1 inf. (ᵹe)fléon, fl{iacu}on, (north. fléa); pres. tense 1st pers. fléo, (Mercian fléom), 2nd pers. fl{iacu}hst, 3rd pers. fl{iacu}hð, (north. fl{iacu}ð, fléð), pl. fléoð, (north. fléað); 3 inf. flæen, pres. tense 3rd pers. flihþ, flicþ, fliȝt, imper. fli(h, fliȝ, south. vlih, 3–4 fléo-n, (3 flo), flei, 3–5 flee-n, 4 south. vle-n, vlee-n, 3–6 fle, 6 fley, 3– flee.
| c 888 K. ælfred Boeth. xxxiii. §2 He..flihþ ða wædle. a 1000 Boeth. Metr. vii. 30 (Gr.) He sceal swiðe flion þisse worulde wlite. a 1225 Ancr. R. 162 Arseni, flih men. Ibid. 208 Vlih þer urommard, er þu beo iattred. a 1240 Ureisun in Cott. Hom. 203 Hwuder schal ich fleon hwon þe [etc.]. a 1250 Owl & Night. 176 Wel fiȝt that wel fliȝt. a 1300 Cursor M. 2818 (Cott.) Þe angls badd loth do him flee. Ibid. 4310 (Cott.) Þou do þe stallworthli to flei. c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 39 Þei went egrely, & did þo kynges fle. 1340 Ayenb. 41 Oþer huanne me draȝþ þo out þet vleþ to holy cherche. c 1374 Chaucer Compl. Mars 105 He..bad her fleen, lest Phebus her espye. c 1380 Sir Ferumb. 3901 He not wyder flene. 1393 Langl. P. Pl. C. xxi. 346 Ich rede we fleo..faste alle hennes. 1556 Aurelio & Isab. F v, It that you fley be the daye, you showe to desire it the nighte. |
(β) 5 flede.
| c 1450 Myrc 1374 Wythowte werke or fleschly dede Þy chastyte from þe doth flede. |
2. Past tense.
(α) 1 fléah, fléh, 3 fleah, flæh, (south. 2 vleh, 4 vleaȝ), 4–5 flagh(e, (also rarely as pl.), 3–4 flei, fleih, fleiȝ, fleigh (rarely as pl.), fley, fleȝ(h.
| c 825 Vesp. Psalter cxiii [cxiv]. 3 Sae ᵹeseah & fleh. a 1000 Boeth. Metr. i. 20 (Gr.) Fleah casere mid þam æðelingum ut on Crecas. c 1200 Ormin 823 He flæh till wesste fra þe follc. a 1225 Leg. Kath. 16 Wes Maxence ouercumen & fleah into Alixandre. a 1225 Ancr. R. 160 He fleih his holi kun icoren of ure Louerde. c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 430 Caym fro him [adam] fleȝ. 1340 Ayenb. 129 Þet hette agar þo hi uleaȝ uram hare lheuedi. c 1340 Cursor M. 7592 (Trin.) Mony fley wiþ deþes wounde. 1382 Wyclif Ps. cxiv. 3 The se saȝ and fleiȝ. 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) I. 189 Þat prince sauede men þat fleigh to hym. a 1400 Octouian 1149 Florentyn yaf hym swych a dent As he forth fleȝh, That [etc.]. c 1400 Destr. Troy 6001 As þai flaghe in the filde. |
(β) 3 fleu, 3, 6 flew(e, 4 flewgh. [Common to this vb. with fly; ? influenced by str. pa. tense of ]
| 1297 R. Glouc. (1724) 18 Þe kyng with a fewe men hymself flew at the laste. Ibid. (1724) 258 He fleu [printed flen] wyþ muche wo. c 1380 Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 412 Seynt Poule..flewȝh suche beggynge. |
(γ) pl. 1 fluᵹon, -un, 2–4 fluȝen, (3 fluȝhen, Orm. -enn, fluhen, flue), 3 flu(w)en, south. vluwen, 3–5 floȝen, floghen (hence 5 flogh as sing.), 4 floun, 3–5 flowe(n.
| c 950 Lindisf. Gosp. Matt. xxvi. 56 Alle..ᵹefluᵹun. c 1000 Ags. Gosp. Mark v. 14 Soþlice þa ðe hi heoldon fluᵹon. c 1200 Ormin 893 Baþe fluȝhenn fra þe folc. c 1205 Lay. 1845 Þa eatendes fluȝen [c 1275 flowen]. c 1225 Ancr. R. 106 His deore diciples fluen alle vrom him. Ibid. 392 His deciples..vluwen alle urom him. a 1225 Juliana 52 Þat ter fluhen monie. c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 861 On of hem, ðe floȝen a-wei. c 1300 Beket 2144 His disciples flowe anon. 1382 Wyclif Isa. xxxiii. 3 Fro the vois of the aungil floun puples. c 1400 Destr. Troy 4732 The ffrigies floghen. Ibid. 11969 Ecuba..egerly flogh. c 1425 Seven Sag. (P.) 822 As thay flowen toward the felde. |
(δ) 4–7 fledd(e, 4 south. vledde, 5 fleded, fleede, 6–7 flet, 7 Sc. flaid, 4– fled. pl. 3–4 ? flededen, 4–5 fleden, fledden, -on.
| c 1300 K. Alis. 2441 So heo ferden..And flodeden [? read flededen.] c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 88 Malcolme..fled for ferd. 1340 Ayenb. 206 He him uledde ase wys and hise uorlet. c 1384 Chaucer H. Fame i. 179 Iulo And eke askanius also ffleden. ? a 1400 Morte Arth. 1431 Thane þe Bretons..fleede to þe foreste. c 1400 Destr. Troy 1349 The Troiens..ffleddon in fere and þe filde leuyt. 1490 Caxton Eneydos xxxi. 118 Dedalus fleded to Thetys for fere of the kynge Mynos of Crete. 1497 Wriothesley Chron. (1875) I. 3 Perkin Werbeck..fledd to Bowdley St. Marie. 1647 H. More Song of Soul i. iii. lxvii, But what could well be sav'd to Simon flet. |
3. pa. pple.
(α) 1 floᵹen, 2 fluᵹen, 3 ifloȝen, south. ivlowen, 3–4 yflowe(n, 4–5 flowe(n, -yn, iflowen, (4 flawen).
| c 1205 Lay. 4764 Brennes wes awæi ifloȝen. a 1225 Ancr. R. 168 Ȝe habbeð þene world ivlowen. 1297 R. Glouc. (1724) 311 Of scaped he was & yflowe. c 1320 Cast. Love 470 For-þi Ich am of londe i-flowen. 13.. E.E. Allit. P. C. 214 He watz flawen fro þe face of frelych dryȝtyn. c 1340 Cursor M. 16743 (Laud) His appostils wern flowyn hym fro. ? a 1400 Arthur 579 Mordred was flow. c 1420 Chron. Vilod. 387 He nold not for þe crosse han flowe. |
(β) 4 fledd, flede, -eed, 5 fledde, 4– fled.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 17554 (Cott.) He..es vnto þe felles fledd. c 1325 Coer de L. 2301 The emperour was fled away. c 1380 Wyclif Wks. (1880) 290 Fleed of men as disceyt of þe fend. ? a 1400 Morte Arth. 2488 The dyre feemene are flede. c 1440 York Myst. xxii. 188 Þis fende þat nowe is fledde. 1539 Bible (Great) Acts xvi. 27 Supposing that the presoners had bene fledde [1557 (Geneva), 1582 (Rheims) and 1611: fled]. |
B. Significations. I. intr.
1. To run away from or as from danger; to take flight; to try to escape or seek safety by flight. Also, to flee away, out, and to flee for it.
| c 825 [see A. 2]. c 1000 Ags. Gosp. Matt. viii. 33 Ða hyrdas witodlice fluᵹon. c 1205 Lay. 5564, & swiðe monie þer fluwen & ferden to Rome. a 1300 Cursor M. 2614 (Cott.) Sco was fain to fle a-wai. c 1325 Coer de L. 2303 Flowen was that fals coward. c 1340 Cursor M. 9213 (Trin.) Þe kyng fley out bi nyȝt. c 1400 Destr. Troy 10077 The grekes flowen in fere & the feld leuyt. 1489 Caxton Faytes of A. ii. xxxvii. 155 They shall make as they dide flee. 1559 Mirr. Mag., Mortimers xx, For they flewe, I feared them the lesse. 1605 Camden Rem. 216 One that had in his forehead a bounch of flesh, fledde away a great pase. 1709 Steele Tatler No. 80 ¶3 My Confusion at last was so great, that without speaking, or being spoken to, I fled for it. 1847 James J. Marston Hall ix, Some of them fled as fast as their legs would carry them. 1884 F. M. Crawford Rom. Singer (1886) I. 90 A hundred women will tell you that they are ready to flee with you. |
| Proverb. a 1250 Owl & Night. 176 ‘Wel fiȝt that wel fliȝt’, seith the wise. 13.. Prov. Hendyng ix. in Rel. Ant. I. 111 ‘Wel fytht, that wel flyth’ Quoth Hendyng. |
b. Const. † forth of, from, out of.
| c 825 Vesp. Psalter lxvii[i]. 2 Feond his..flen from onsiene his. 1154 O.E. Chron. an. 1137 Sume fluᵹen ut of lande. c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 430 Caym fro him fleȝ. c 1450 Myrc 1681 Ȝef he haue grace in herte to se How aungelus..From hym faste flen. 1550 Crowley Last Trump 29 When Elias fled away from Ahab. 1564 Haward Eutropius vii. 69 He [Nero] fled forthe of his palace. 1597 Shakes. 2 Hen. IV, ii. iv. 248 The Rogue fled from me like Quick-siluer. 1611 Bible Job xx. 24 He shall flee from the iron weapon. |
c. Conjugated with be.
| c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 3396 Ȝet sal ðe kinde of amalech Ben al fled dun in deades wrech. c 1320 Sir Tristr. 2223 Tristrem was fled oway. 1480 Caxton Chron. Eng. ccxxxii. 250 Whan pyers was fledde oute of spayn. 1535 Stewart Cron. Scot. II. 479 And mony freik out of the feild wes fled. 1671 H. M. tr. Colloq. Erasmus 543 He won by an assault a strong defenced Castle, whereinto the Lady great with child was fled. |
† d. refl.; also quasi-trans., to flee one's way.
| c 1205 Lay. 16078 Ah flih flih þinne wæi. a 1300 Cursor M. 5680 (Gött.) Moyses..fledd him into madian. c 1340 Ibid. 7676 (Fairf.) He him fled to samuel. 1470–85 Malory Arthur viii. vii, Syr Marhaus..fledde his waye. 1535 Coverdale Judith xv. 3 The Assirians..kept not them selues together, but fled their waye. |
2. To hasten for safety or protection (to, † on).
| Beowulf 764 (Gr.) Mynte se mæra, hwær he meahte..on weᵹ þanon fleon on fenhopu. c 825 Vesp. Psalter cxlii[i]. 9 Dryhten to ðe ic ᵹefleh. c 1205 Lay. 16080 Fleo þider þe þu fleo. a 1300 Cursor M. 6675 (Cott.) Þof he to mine auter flei. 1393 Langl. P. Pl. C. iii. 220 Falsnesse for fere þo flegh to þe freres. 1535 Coverdale Zech. xiv. 5 Ye shall fle vnto the valley of my hilles. 1678 Tillotson Sermons (ed. 3) I. 64 We can have..none in all the world to fle [ed. 1671 p. 64 flye] to, but Him. 1718 Prior Solomon iii. 482 In vain for Life He to the Altar fled. 1849 Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. 176 The Presbyterians..fled to the foot of the throne. 1858 M. Porteous Souter Johnny 30 Or silly mortal blinks an ee To muckle Jupiter ye'll flee. |
† b. refl. Obs.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 5680 (Gött.) Moises..fled him into madian. 1600 Holland Livy xliv. vi. (1609) 1174 b, The king..fled himselfe to Pydna. 1610 Healey St. Aug. Citie of God (1620) 143 But those..either fled themselves into such places..or else were brought thither. |
† c. To have recourse to. Obs.
| 1563 Homilies ii. Agst. Idolatry iii. (1859) 220 They..flee to this aunswere, that [etc.]. 1660 F. Brooke tr. Le Blanc's Trav. 270 The servants and others fled to their swords. |
3. To withdraw hastily, take oneself off, go away. Also with away. Const. from, out of. Also, To swerve from (a commandment); to keep free from (a practice).
| c 825 Vesp. Psalter cxxxviii[i]. 7 From onsiene ðinre hwider fleom ic. c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 127 On his ȝuweðe he fleh fro folke to weste. 1297 R. Glouc. (1724) 501 Clerkes & lewede, that fram thi seruise wolle fle. c 1340 Cursor M. 9816 (Trin.) His hert auȝte bettur breke in þre þen fro his biddyngis to fle. c 1385 Chaucer L.G.W. 1307 Dido, Ye wol nat fro your wyf thus foule fleene! c 1440 Partonope 4881 Thys made me vtterly fro yow fleene. 1611 Bible Gen. xxxi. 27 Wherefore didst thou flee away secretly? 1717 Pope Eloisa 131 From the false world in early youth they fled. 1820 Keats St. Agnes xlii, These lovers fled away into the storm. 1848 A. Jameson Sacr. & Leg. Art (1850) 193 Two years later he fled from society. |
† b. To depart this life.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 20260 (Gött.) Hu sal we liue quen þu will fle? |
4. To make one's escape, get safely away.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 7755 (Cott.) Þar þai fell þat moght not fle. c 1300 Havelok 1882 Late we nouth thise doges fle. 1382 Wyclif Acts xvi. 27 Wenynge the boundyn men for to haue fled. c 1430 Lydg. Min. Poems 186 He is a fole that..fled is fro prisoun. 1667 Milton P.L. iv. 963 Flie thither whence thou [Satan] fledst. 1821 Shelley Epips. 272 As a hunted deer that could not flee, I..stood at bay. |
5. To pass away quicky and suddenly; to disappear, vanish. Also with away.
| c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 175 He is fleonde alse shadewe. a 1300 Cursor M. 12075 (Cott.) And son þe spirit þat was fledd Again come in þat ilk stede. 1382 Wyclif Rev. xvi. 20 And ech ijle fley awey and hilles ben not founde. c 1450 Holland Howlat 140 The Swallowe so swyft..is forthwart to fle. 1639 Massinger Unnat. Combat v. ii, Take not thy flight so soon immaculate spirit: 'Tis fled already. 1712–4 Pope Rape Lock i. 51 When Woman's transient breath is fled. 1776 Gibbon Decl. & F. I. vii. 199 The animating health and vigour were fled. 1818 Shelley Rev. Islam v. xliii. 6 As I approached, the morning's golden mist..fled. 1850 Elder's House 215 Pale flowers, Whose life and bloom are fled. 1886 A. Winchell Walks & Talks in Geol. Field 214 A million of years may flee away before one revolution is completed. |
6. Occasionally used for fly (= volare). (Often in Shelley.)
Examples of the present stem from dialect literature (Sc. and northern Eng.) are not given here, as in them flee is the regular form of fly. In recent instances, the use of flee for fly is chiefly for the sake of rime, or to produce a sort of archaistic effect; in older writers it may be due variously to confusion between the two vbs., to adoption of dialectal phrases (esp. in ‘to let flee’), or to a development from sense 5.
| c 1000 ælfric Hom. (Th.) I. 142 Culfran lufiað annysse, and fleoð him floccmælum. 1382 Wyclif Jer. xlviii. 40 As an egle he shall fleen out. c 1400 Mandeville (1839) xxii. 238 The tronchouns flen in sprotes and peces. 1553 T. Wilson Rhet. (1580) 211 He let flee at hym like a Dragon. 1592 Shakes. Ven. & Ad. 947 Loues golden arrow at him should haue fled. 1598 Sylvester Du Bartas ii. ii. ii. Babylon 221 Make fast this rope, and then they let it flee. 1612 J. Davies Muse's Sacr. Wks. (Grosart) II. 75/1 At which forthwith he [the Libard] flees, And piece-meal teares it. 1770 J. Love Cricket 5 The Youth cries Rub; O Flee, you Long'rer, Flee! 1815 Shelley Alastor 358 The boat fled on. 1821 ― Ginevra 211 The dark arrow fled In the noon. |
II. trans.
7. To run away from, hasten away from; to quit abruptly, forsake (a person or place, etc.).
| a 1000 Andreas 1540 (Gr.) Wæs him ut myne fleon fealone stream. a 1300 Cursor M. 14884 (Cott.) He folus þaim and þai him fle. 1386 Rolls of Parlt. III. 225/1 Some fledde the Citee for feere. 1548 Hall Chron., Hen. VI, 95 Straungers in great nombre fled the land. 1593 Shakes. 3 Hen. VI, ii. i. 19 So fled his Enemies my Warlike Father. 1597 ― 2 Hen. IV, i. i. 18 Yong Prince Iohn..fled the Field. 1598 Sylvester Du Bartas ii. ii. i. Ark 43 The more he [a River] flees his source. 1634 Sir T. Herbert Trav. 3 Upon better view he feared and fled us. 1647–8 Sir C. Cotterell Davila's Hist. Fr. (1678) 21 He was forced to flee his Country. 1726 Adv. Capt. R. Boyle 130 All his Attendants had fled his Presence. 1801 Southey Thalaba ix. xxxix, She fled the Place of Tombs. |
| fig. c 1400 Rom. Rose 4786 If thou flee it, it shal flee thee; Folowe it, and folowen shal it thee. 1513 Douglas æneis vi. i. 132 Now, at the last, that fled ws euer moir, The forther cost Itaile haif we caucht. 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 291 All temptacyons fledde theyr holynesse. 1816 Byron Ch. Har. iii. xxxix, When Fortune fled her spoil'd and favourite child. 1882 Stevenson New Arab. Nts. (1884) 130 Sleep continued to flee him. |
8. In weaker sense: To avoid with dread or dislike; to eschew, shun. Occas. in passive; also † with inf. as obj.
| a 1000 Boeth. Metr. vii. 30 (Gr.) He sceal swiðe flion þisse worulde wlite. c 1200 Ormin 8056 Þa flæh I childess cosstess. c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 127 He fleȝ here ferrede. a 1300 Cursor M. 1952 (Gött.) Fle falshed and theft. a 1340 Hampole Psalter i. 1 His verray lufers folous him fleand honur. c 1386 Chaucer Monk's T. 265 Fro hir childhod..sche fledde Office of wommen. ? a 1400 Cato's Morals 55 in Cursor M. App. iv. 1670 Fle to take wife..bot ho be honest. c 1400 Lanfranc's Cirurg. 59 A wood hound fleeþ mete & water. c 1440 Jacob's Well xv. 100 An angry man..owyth to be fled as a raveynous dogge. 1550 Crowley Epigr. 667 Auoid and fle dice. 1563 Homilies ii. Agst. Idolatry iii. (1859) 230 Aungels flee to take vnto them by sacrelege the honoure dewe to God. 1766 Fordyce Serm. Yng. Wom. (1767) II. xi. 159 Flee them, my fair pupils, flee them with horror. 1818 Shelley Rosalind 41, I would flee Thy tainting touch. |
9. To contrive to avoid, save oneself from, escape from, evade. Now rare.
| c 1200 Ormin 9803 Hu þeȝȝ mihhtenn fleon Drihhtiness irre. a 1300 Cursor M. 3001 (Cott.) Your harm sa wend i best to fle. c 1340 Ibid. 22503 (Fairf.) For to flee þe dai of awe. 1563–87 Foxe A. & M. (1596) 108/2, I..haue long fléene the hands of mine enemies. 1821 Shelley Prometh. Unb. i. 783 On Death's white and wingèd steed Which the fleetest cannot flee. |