▪ I. flown, ppl. a.1
(fləʊn)
[pa. pple. of fly v.1]
a. Used adjectively in senses of the vb. Also with out, and with defining word prefixed, as far-flown, new-flown.
| 1608 Sylvester Du Bartas ii. iv. Tropheis 1049 Their far-flow'n wings. 1691 Taylor Behmen's Theos. Phil., Three⁓fold Life xiii. 309 The flown out Will hates that whence it sprung. 1813 T. Busby Lucretius i. 300 Hence new-flown birds the woods with music fill. 1865 Swinburne Atalanta 6 Swifter than dreams [follow] the white flown feet of sleep. 1877 Bryant Odyssey v. 551 When he breathed again, And his flown senses had returned. |
b. flown cover, in Philately, an envelope or cover dispatched by airmail.
| 1930 Times Educ. Suppl. 16 Aug. p. iv/1 A new form of collecting is taking the imagination of those who are interested in flying. It is the collecting of what are called ‘flown covers’. 1936 Times 3 Jan. 14/1 A collection of postage stamps and flown covers..are also on show. 1962 M. Savill tr. Schenk's Romance Postage Stamps iii. 132 The expeditionary forces in Korea..sent their field post letters with their national airmail stamps, and so the Korean battles are..documented..by genuine flown covers. |
▪ II. † flown, ppl. a.2 Obs.
(fləʊn)
[str. pa. pple. of flow v.]
Only in flown sheet: see quot. 1653. Also fig. Cf. flowing ppl. a. 5 b.
| 1626 Capt. Smith Accid. Yng. Sea-men 28 A flown sheate. 1653 ― Seaman's Gram. 39 A flowne sheat, that is, when they are not haled home to the blocke..A flowne sheat is when she goes before the winde, or betwixt a paire of sheats, or all sailes drawing. 1697 W. Dampier Voy. I. 111 We could have sailed with a flown sheet to Ria Lexa. 1748 Anson's Voy. i. x. 98 The sheets being half flown. |