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单词 fleet
释义

fleetn.1

Brit. /fliːt/, U.S. /flit/
Forms: Old English fléot, Middle English fleote, Middle English–1500s flete, 1500s–1600s fleete, 1500s– fleet.
Etymology: Old English fléot (? strong feminine, as may be inferred from the early Middle English form), recorded once in sense ‘ship, vessel’ (or collective = means of sea-travel, boats or ships in general), < fléotan fleet v.1 Compare Old English flyte (? or flýte) ‘pontonium’ (Ælfric Gloss.) from the same root.
1.
a. A sea force, or naval armament; in early use, a number of vessels carrying armed men, under a single command; in modern use, a number of ships armed and manned for war, each having its own commanding officer, under the orders of the admiral in chief, or of the flag-officer in command of a division. to go round or through the fleet: to be flogged on board each vessel in the fleet. fleet in being: a phrase first used by the Earl of Torrington after the engagement off Beachy Head in 1690 to describe a fleet which, though inferior to that of the enemy, is able to hamper his movements.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > hostilities at sea > navy > a naval force or fleet > [noun]
fleeta1000
floteOE
ship-ferda1122
navya1382
armyc1475
armada1533
class1596
naval1627
armadilla1685
Grand Fleet1696
armament1698
maritime power1711
a1000 Prayers (Gr.-Wülck.) iv. 100 Hwy ic gebycge bat on sæwe, fleot on faroðe.
c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 1078 Humber king & al his fleote [c1300 Otho flote] & his muchele scip-ferde.
c1325 Coer de L. 1653 All redy they fonde ther her flete, Chargyd with armur.
1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis I. 197 That vessel..Which maister was of all the flete.
c1440 Promptorium Parvulorum 166/2 Flete of schyppys yn þe see, classis.
a1527 R. Thorne in R. Hakluyt Divers Voy. (1582) sig. C3v He armed a fleete.
a1665 K. Digby Jrnl. Voy. to Mediterranean (1868) 1 The straightes fleete..being gone 4 houres..when wee sett sayle.
1710 Earl of Torrington Speech House of Commons 1690 29 Most Men were in fear that the French wou'd invade; but I was always of another Opinion,..for I always said, that whilst we had a Fleet in being, they wou'd not dare to make an Attempt.
1718 Free-thinker No. 50. 2 They would not permit the Carthaginians to fit out any Fleets.
1841 F. Marryat Joseph Rushbrook III. iii. 38 They..for the double offence, would go through the fleet.
1841 F. Marryat Joseph Rushbrook III. iii. 42 One of the marines..was to have gone round the fleet this morning.
1854 H. H. Milman Hist. Lat. Christianity II. iv. ix. 214 A formidable armament..embarked on board a great fleet.
1898 R. Kipling (title) A Fleet in Being.
1899 McClure's Mag. Jan. 237/2 It is indeed as a threat to communications that the fleet in being is chiefly formidable.
1902 Encycl. Brit. XXXII. 501/1 Of late years controversy has raged round this phrase, ‘a fleet in being’ and the strategic principle which it expresses.
1964 D. Macintyre Battle for Mediterranean i. 31 A lack of desire on the part of the Italians to risk their fleet..is..probable, a policy which accorded with the theory of maintenance of a ‘fleet in being’.
b. the fleet: the navy.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > hostilities at sea > navy > [noun] > the British navy
the king's (also queen's) navya1382
Royal Navy1583
the navy royal1601
the fleet1712
RN?1791
the senior service1899
silent service1904
1712 J. Addison Spectator No. 500. ¶3 Whether it be in the Army or in the Fleet, in Trade, or in any of the three learned Professions.
1867 W. H. Smyth & E. Belcher Sailor's Word-bk. Fleet, a general name given to the royal navy.
c. In wider sense: A number of ships or boats sailing in company.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > [noun] > a number of in company
consort1591
armada1625
fleet1697
mackerel fleeta1862
fleetful1899
1697 W. Dampier New Voy. around World iii. 40 A Fleet of Pereagoes laden with Indian Corn..going to Cartagene.
1719 D. Defoe Life Robinson Crusoe 338 The Brasil Ships come all in Fleets.
1777 W. Robertson Hist. Amer. I. i. 45 He immediately equipped a fleet to carry a colony of Portuguese to these islands.
1841 C. Dickens Old Curiosity Shop i. v. 106 A fleet of barges were coming lazily on.
1865 Cornhill Mag. Apr. 465 The whole ‘fleet’ [of colliers] as it is sometimes called, must anchor.
1884 Stubbs' Mercantile Circular 27 Feb. 194/1 The total catch of mackerel by the New England fleet was 226,685 barrels.
d. Fleet Air Arm, the branch of the air force formed to operate with the fleet. (First formed 1923; came under the Admiralty's control in 1938.) Abbreviated F.A.A.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > hostilities in the air > air force > [noun] > branches of
air arm1913
W.R.A.F1918
Fleet Air Arm1923
Bomber Command1939
WAAF1939
Coastal Command1940
Air Training Corps1941
Fighter Command1941
WASP1943
1923 Rel. Navy & Air Force 2 in Parl. Papers (Cmd. 1938) XV. 827, 1. Navy and Air Force..Naval officers belonging to the Fleet Air Arm are therefore to be attached to the Air Service on the nomination of the Admiralty.
1933 Jrnl. Royal Aeronaut. Soc. 37 337 The references made..to the activities of the Fleet Air arm were fully justified... It was surprising how tiny a speck on the ocean an aircraft carrier could appear when one had to return to it after a sea reconnaissance.
1939 Navy List Sept. p. xiii F.A.A.—Officers serving with or undergoing training in the Fleet Air Arm.
1940 E. C. Shepherd Britain's Air Power 27 But for the Fleet Air Arm, which is exclusively controlled by the Admiralty, the whole of British Air Power is thus under the direction of a single staff—the Air Staff—and is commanded by R.A.F.
1953 Times 21 May 8/2 The Admiralty has decided to reintroduce the term ‘Fleet Air Arm’ after a lapse of seven years, during which the air forces of the Royal Navy have been known officially as ‘Naval Aviation’.
2. transferred. A number of persons, birds, or other objects moving or employed in company (now rare, exc. dialect); revived in the sense of: a number of vehicles or aircraft forming a definite group or ‘unit’.The dialect use (quot. 1884), which has passed into sporting language, may be a northern pronunciation of flight n.1
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > arrangement or fact of being arranged > state of being gathered together > an assemblage or collection > [noun] > group
fleeta1400
congregation1526
batch1597
parcel1598
seta1616
group1705
lodge1737
groupment1837
klomp1853
tally1890
society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > [noun] > a number of, forming a group
fleet1881
society > travel > air or space travel > a means of conveyance through the air > [noun] > an aircraft > a group of aircraft
fleet1881
gaggle1946
a1400–50 Alexander (Dublin) 1196 To founde forth with a flete [Ashmole flote] of fyfe hundreth knyghtez.
1675 J. Crowne Countrey Wit ii. 29 I will convey you safe home with my Fleet of Lanthorns.
a1676 H. Guthry Mem. (1702) 67 As soon as Episcopacy had been thrust out of this Church, there came..from Ireland a fleet of Scottish People.
1810 Sporting Mag. 35 311 A fleet of wild ducks had alighted.
1878 W. Dickinson Gloss. Words & Phrases Cumberland (ed. 2) (at cited word) ‘Thou's cap't t'heall fleet o' them.’
1881 W. D. Hay 300 Years Hence x. 248 The fleet of the Avengers sweeps onward through the air.
1884 R. Holland Gloss. Words County of Chester (1886) Fleet, an assemblage of birds when they come to their feeding ground or roosting quarters.
1905 Daily Chron. 11 Sept. 5/6 At five o'clock, when the motor fleet drew up.
1908 H. G. Wells War in Air iii. §5 A fleet of airships.
1911 Chambers's Jrnl. 767/2 The vast sum of money..expended on..a single Dreadnought might better be devoted to creating a whole fleet of dirigibles and aeroplanes.
1915 W. J. Locke Jaffery iii Barbara has gone away with the Daimler,..and as I don't keep a fleet of cars, I had to choose between this and the donkey-cart.
1924 F. J. Haskin Amer. Govt. (rev. ed.) 433 Large fleets of trucks and automobiles.
1967 Boston Sunday Globe 23 Apr. 8/1 A separate electrically powered fleet [of trains] will be cutting the time between Manhattan and Washington, D.C.
1971 Guardian 22 Feb. 12/4 By accident I joined what drivers described as a company with one of the worst fleets of transport in the kingdom.
3. Fisheries. (See quots.)
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > hunting > fishing > fishing-tackle > net > [noun] > drift- or float-net > set of
drift1844
fleet1879
1879 Encycl. Brit. IX. 251 They [nets in drift-fishing] are fastened together end to end, and thus form what is called a train, fleet, or drift of nets.
1887 W. D. Parish & W. F. Shaw Dict. Kentish Dial. (at cited word) Every Folkestone herring-boat carries a fleet of nets, and sixty nets make a fleet.
1892 R. O. Heslop Northumberland Words Fleet, a row of floating herring nets at sea attached to each other and to the fishing boat.

Compounds

General attributive.
fleet-action n.
ΚΠ
1901 J. Blake How Sailors Fight iv. 91 As the first phase of a fleet action the captains of the various warships meet together on the admiral's flagship.
1910 Daily Chron. 17 Mar. 3/5 The fleet action of the future will..develop into an aggregation of duels between opposing battle units.
fleet engineer n.
ΚΠ
1901 J. Blake How Sailors Fight ii. 44 A fleet engineer is always on duty in South Wales, and it is his business to recommend to the Government the coal they shall include in their contracts.
fleet-man n.
ΚΠ
1904 Daily Chron. 1 Feb. 3/3 It will encourage straight shooting among the fleetmen.
1905 Daily Chron. 19 July 5/6 The magic personality of British fleetmen.
1909 London Mag. Aug. 605/2 To cheer the fleetmen as they march through the streets.
fleet regatta n.
ΚΠ
1891 Pall Mall Gaz. 18 Nov. 5/2 The annual fleet regatta.
fleet surgeon n.
ΚΠ
1892 Pall Mall Gaz. 30 Aug. 6/1 Dr. Irving was subsequently fleet surgeon to Lord Wolseley in the Ashantee campaign.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1896; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

fleetn.2

Brit. /fliːt/, U.S. /flit/
Forms: Old English fléot(e, Middle English–1800s flete, 1500s–1600s fleet(t)e, 1500s flett, 1800s flet, 1500s– fleet.
Etymology: Old English fléot strong masculine (also fléote weak feminine or fléota weak masculine), corresponding to Old French flêt , Middle Dutch vliet (masculine), neuter (modern Dutch vliet masculine), Middle Low German vlêt , Middle High German vlieȥ (early modern German fliesz ) masculine, Old Norse fljót neuter; < Old Germanic *fleut-an : see fleet v.1
Now only local.
1.
a. A place where water flows; an arm of the sea; a creek, inlet, run of water.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > land > land mass > shore or bank > bend in coast > [noun] > inlet in river or sea
fleetc893
creekc1300
graina1400
updraught14..
armleta1552
land-featherc1582
indraught1596
inlet1596
vent1604
cut1630
re-entrant1893
the world > the earth > land > land mass > shore or bank > bend in coast > [noun] > inlet in river or sea > in river
fleetc893
pillOE
pow1481
creek1577
crick1608
pokelogan1848
the world > the earth > land > land mass > shore or bank > bend in coast > [noun] > inlet in river or sea > in sea
fleetc893
pillOE
arm of the seaOE
sounda1300
lougha1387
bracec1400
lough1423
firthc1425
loch1427
resort1477
estuarya1552
inshot1555
mere1574
portlet1577
fret1587
frith1600
sea-gate1605
creek1625
sea-lochc1645
wick1664
fjord1674
voea1688
backwater1867
strait gulf1867
ocean-arm1871
ria1887
fjard1904
geo1934
c893 tr. Orosius Hist. i. i. §27 Ispania land is..eall mid fleote..ymbhæfd.
c1440 Promptorium Parvulorum 166/2 Flete, there water cometh and goth, fleta.
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 221/1 Flete where water cometh, breche.
1622 M. Drayton 2nd Pt. Poly-olbion xxiii. 69 To the Sea..With Mosses, Fleets, and Fells, she showes most wild and rough.
1677 A. Yarranton England's Improvem. 108 Cloth..Fulled with our Mills by the open fleet.
1703 S. Dale Let. Feb. in Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 24 1575 Certain remains of the old Channel, which the neighbouring Inhabitants still call Fleets.
1736 J. Lewis Hist. Isle Tenet (ed. 2) 78 A certain Flete..through which little Boats used to come to the aforesaid Town.
1827 Sporting Mag. 21 115 Nests formed amongst the reeds, by the side of the Fleets.
1891 A. J. Foster Ouse 214 Several narrow creeks running into the heart of the town [King's Lynn]..are called ‘fleets’.
b. (from the use of creeks in drainage; see supra 1891): A drain, a sewer. Obsolete exc. dialect.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > sanitation > provision of sewers > [noun] > sewer
cockey1390
gutterc1440
soughc1440
sew1475
withdraught1493
sink1499
syre1513
closet1531
draught1533
vault1533
drain1552
fleet1583
issue1588
drainer1598
guzzle1598
shore1598
sewer1609
vennel1641
cloaca1656
cuniculus1670
pend1817
thurrock1847
sewer line1977
1583 Sewers Inquisition 8 (E.D.S.) A new and sufficient head like unto Stockwith new fleet shall [be] made and lade there.
1773 Burstwick Inclos. Act 22 The fleet or sewer.
1877 E. Peacock Gloss. Words Manley & Corringham, Lincs. Fleet, a kind of drain.
2. the Fleet a run of water, flowing into the Thames between Ludgate Hill and Fleet Street, now a covered sewer; called also Fleet ditch; hence, the prison which stood near it.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > water > rivers and streams > stream > [noun] > spec
the Fleet1530
society > authority > punishment > imprisonment > prison > [noun] > specific prisons
King's Bench1427
marshalsea1436
tunc1503
chateleta1513
clinkc1530
the Fleet1530
Bocardo1535
bastille1561
Poultry Compter1644
Whit1673
the Moor1869
the Ville1903
the Scrubs1923
H-block1976
Mandela University1986
the world > the earth > water > rivers and streams > stream > [noun] > channel for conveyance of water > specific channel for water
the Fleet1530
pissing conduit1594
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 201/1 Flete a prisone for gentylmen, consergerie.
1570 J. Foxe Actes & Monumentes (rev. ed.) II. 1363/1 Grafton was sent to the Fleete.
1613 Letter in Burn Fleet Registers (1833) 5 An ancyentt acquayntance of y's and myne is yesterday maryed in the Fleette.
1712 J. Arbuthnot John Bull in his Senses iv. 19 Before the next [term] we shall have him in the Fleet.
1761 A. Murphy (title) Ode to the Naiads of Fleet-ditch.
1837 C. Dickens Pickwick Papers xxxix. 433 Mr. Pickwick alighted at the gate of the Fleet.

Compounds

C1.
fleet-dyke n. (see quot.)
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > land > land mass > shore or bank > embankment or dam > [noun]
wharf1038
causeyc1330
wall1330
bulwark1555
scut1561
weir1599
mound1613
staithe1613
breastwork1641
embankment1786
bund1813
sheath1850
fleet-dyke1858
sheathing1867
causeway1878
flood-bank1928
stopbank1950
1858 P. L. Simmonds Dict. Trade Products Fleet-dyke, an embankment for preventing inundation.
fleet-hole n. (see quot.)
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > land > landscape > low land > hole or pit > [noun] > pot-hole or swallow-hole
water sink1553
swallow1610
swallow-hole1660
estuary1665
swallet1668
cockpit1683
sinkhole1772
sink1791
pot1797
water-swallow1811
shake-hole1823
pothole1826
fleet-hole1839
spout hole1849
katavothron1869
ponor1890
sump1951
1839 W. B. Stonehouse Hist. Isle of Axholme 263 The west channel would then naturally warp up, and leave what is usually termed in such cases a fleet hole.
1877 E. Peacock Gloss. Words Manley & Corringham, Lincs. Fleet-hole, a hole or hollow left by a drain having been diverted, or a bank having broken, and washed away the soil.
C2. In sense 2.
Categories »
Fleet books n. the records of the marriages celebrated in the Fleet Prison.
Fleet chapel n. the place where the marriage ceremonies were performed.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > punishment > imprisonment > prison > [noun] > specific prisons > Fleet chapel, marriage, or parson
Fleet chapel1719
Fleet parson1732
Fleet marriage1736
1719 Original Weekly Jrnl. 26 Sept. in Burn Fleet Registers (1833) 7 Mrs. Ann Leigh..having been decoyed..and married at the Fleet Chapel.
Fleet marriage n. (also Fleet wedding, Fleet-Street marriage) a marriage performed clandestinely by a Fleet parson in the Fleet.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > marriage or wedlock > wedding or nuptials > [noun] > manner of marrying > clandestine
Fleet marriage1736
society > authority > punishment > imprisonment > prison > [noun] > specific prisons > Fleet chapel, marriage, or parson
Fleet chapel1719
Fleet parson1732
Fleet marriage1736
1736 Grub-St. Jrnl. 20 July in Fleet Reg. (1833) 6 This advice cannot be taken by those that are concerned in ye Fleet marriages.
1747 Grub-St. Jrnl. 20 July in Fleet Reg. (1833) (title) A Fleet Wedding.
1861 Cornhill Mag. June 688 A worthy woman whose daughter had been entrapped into a Fleet-Street marriage.
Fleet parson n. one of a number of disreputable clergymen who were to be found in and about the Fleet ready to perform clandestine marriages.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > punishment > imprisonment > prison > [noun] > specific prisons > Fleet chapel, marriage, or parson
Fleet chapel1719
Fleet parson1732
Fleet marriage1736
society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > marriage or wedlock > wedding or nuptials > people connected with wedding > [noun] > one who performs marriage ceremony > types of
couple-beggar1702
Fleet parson1732
1732 Grub-St. Jrnl. 20 July in Fleet Reg. (1833) 7 A Fleet parson was convicted..of forty-three oaths.
Fleet register n. = Fleet books n.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > marriage or wedlock > wedding or nuptials > official announcements, permission, or records > [noun] > records
marriage register1745
Fleet register1833
1833 Burn Fleet Registers 5 The Fleet Registers..commence about the period of the Order of the Ecclesiastical Commissioners.
Fleet Street n. a street in London devoted largely to the production and publication of daily newspapers and periodical journals; hence allusively, the national newspapers generally, the journalistic press, journalism. So Fleet Streeter.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > journalism > newspaper offices > [noun] > locations of
Printing House Square1832
Fleet Street1882
street1932
society > communication > journalism > journal > newspaper > [noun] > world of
newspaperdom1848
Fleet Street1882
newspaperland1910
1882 C. Pebody Eng. Journalism ii. 19 Fleet Street to-day, with its energy, enterprise, and intelligence, is a characteristic representation of the whole spirit of the English Press.
1893 J. S. Farmer & W. E. Henley Slang III. 19/2 Fleet-Street, the estate of journalism.
1893 J. S. Farmer & W. E. Henley Slang III. 19/2 Fleet-Streeter, a journalist of the baser sort.
1904 J. R. Robinson 50 Years Fleet St. 236 The passion for letter-writing to newspapers is recognised in Fleet Street as a distinct form of mental aberration.
1905 H. Leach Fleet St. 87 A faculty for quick and perfect condensation is one of the most valuable possessions of the Fleet Street man.
1905 H. Leach Fleet St. 143 Fleet Street has its particular specialists for several of the courts of law.
1905 H. Leach Fleet St. 189 Their [sc. editors'] differences show how impossible it is for Fleet Street to tell what the morrow will bring forth for it.
1920 K. Jones Fleet St. & Downing St. 330 Thus would Fleet Street and Downing Street at last understand one another.
1927 Scots Observer 12 Mar. 11/3 Shabbiness and flyblownness represent a Fleet Street tradition that has been broken.
1962 John o' London's 22 Feb. 177/3 The event is a natural for the copy-starved Fleet Streeters.
1969 Times 10 Dec. 11/4 The underminers in Fleet Street: voilà l'ennemi.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1896; most recently modified version published online June 2022).

fleetn.3

ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > cleaning > cleaning other miscellaneous things > [noun] > machine for cleaning church
fleet1829
1829 Trial of J. Martin 34 I saw the rope hanging from the window west of the Five Sisters window in the North transept. It was fastened to the fleet..the machine for cleaning the Minster.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1896; most recently modified version published online March 2018).

fleetn.4

Brit. /fliːt/, U.S. /flit/
Etymology: ? < fleet v.1 in sense ‘to float’.
Fishing.
(See quots.) Cf. fleet n.1 3. Also, fleet-line.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > hunting > fishing > fishing-tackle > fishing-line > [noun] > float-line
fleet1880
1880 W. H. Patterson Gloss. Words Antrim & Down Fleet-line (float-line), a line used in a particular kind of sea-fishing; the hook floats mid-way between the surface and bottom.
1891 Cent. Dict. Fleet, in fishing, a single line of 100 hooks: so called when the bultow was introduced in Newfoundland (1846).
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1896; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

fleetadj.1

Brit. /fliːt/, U.S. /flit/
Forms: Also 1500s flete. Cf. flit adj.
Origin: Either (i) a borrowing from early Scandinavian. Or (ii) a word inherited from Germanic.
Etymology: Not found before 16th cent., but probably much older; cognate with or < Old Norse fliótr swift; < root of fleet v.1
1. Characterized by power of swift onward movement; swift, nimble. Said primarily of living beings, their limbs and movements; hence of things viewed as self-moving, thoughts, etc. Not in colloquial use.
ΘΠ
the world > movement > rate of motion > swiftness > [adjective]
swiftc888
swifta1050
currentc1300
quickc1300
hastivea1325
hastyc1330
ingnel1340
swiftyc1380
speedfula1387
fasta1400
swippingc1420
speedy1487
fleet1528
tite?a1540
scudding1545
flighty1552
suddenly1556
flight1581
feathered1587
Pegasean1590
wing-footed1591
swift-winged?1592
thought-swift-flying1595
wind-winged?1596
swallow-winged1597
Pegasarian1607
skelping1607
rapid1608
night-swifta1616
celerious1632
clipping1635
perniciousa1656
volatile1655
quick-foot1658
meteorous1667
windy1697
high-flying1710
fleet-footed1726
aliped1727
wickc1760
velocious1775
flight-performing1785
fast-going1800
fast-moving1802
meteor1803
wight-wapping1830
fleety1841
speeding1847
swiftening1848
two-forty1855
fire-swift1865
pennate1870
spinning1882
percursory1884
zippy1889
meteoric1895
pacy1906
presto1952
1528 J. Skelton Honorificatissimo: Replycacion agaynst Yong Scolers sig. Aiiiv Your tonges were to flete.
1578 J. Lyly Euphues f. 2 The fleetest fishe swalloweth the delicatest bayte.
1598 W. Shakespeare Love's Labour's Lost v. ii. 261 Their conceites haue winges, Fleeter then Arrowes, bullets wind thought swifter thinges. View more context for this quotation
a1616 W. Shakespeare Taming of Shrew (1623) Induct. i. 24 If Eccho were as fleete, I would esteeme him worth a dozen such. View more context for this quotation
1671 J. Milton Paradise Regain'd iii. 312 Thir horses..fleet and strong. View more context for this quotation
1752 Ld. Chesterfield Let. 27 May (1932) (modernized text) V. 1887 In the situation of a man who should be very fleet of one leg, but very lame of the other.
1781 W. Cowper Verses by A. Selkirk 41 How fleet is a glance of the mind!
1810 W. Scott Lady of Lake iii. 103 Fleet limbs that mocked at time.
1841 E. W. Lane tr. Thousand & One Nights I. 126 The antelope is supposed to be the fleetest quadruped on earth.
1869 E. A. Freeman Hist. Norman Conquest (1876) III. xiv. 377 A messenger..who had sped with a pace fleeter even than that of his own march.
2. Evanescent, shifting, passing away; not durable or lasting. poetic.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > duration > shortness or brevity in time > swift movement of time > [adjective]
slidinga900
scrithingOE
henwardOE
swifta1225
short livya1325
passing1340
flittingc1374
shadowy1374
temporalc1384
speedfula1400
transitory?c1400
brittlea1425
unabidingc1430
frail?c1450
indurablec1450
scrithel?c1475
caduke1483
transitorious1492
passanta1500
perishinga1500
caducea1513
fugitive?1518
caducal?1548
quick1548
delible1549
flittering1549
undurable?1555
shadowish1561
fleeting1563
vading1566
flightful1571
wanzing1571
transitive1575
slipping1581
diary1583
unlasting1585
never-lasting1588
flit1590
post-like1594
running1598
short-lived1598
short-winded1598
transient1599
unpermanent1607
flashy1609
of a day1612
passable1613
dureless1614
urgenta1616
waxena1616
decayable1617
horary1620
evanid1626
fugitable1628
short-dated1632
fugacious1635
ephemerala1639
impermanent1653
fungous1655
volatile1655
ephemerousa1660
unimmortal1667
timesome1674
while-being1674
of passage1680
journal1685
ephemeron1714
admovent1727
evanescent1728
meteorous1750
deciduous1763
preterient1786
ephemeridal1795
meteorica1802
meteor1803
ephemerean1804
ephemerid1804
evanescing1805
fleeted1810
fleet1812
unenduring1814
unremaining1817
unimmortalized1839
impersistent1849
flighty1850
uneternal1862
caducous1863
diurnal1866
horarious1866
brisk1879
evasive1881
picaresque1959
1812 H. Smith & J. Smith Rejected Addr. 13 This goodly pile..Perchance than Holland's edifice more fleet.
1877 W. C. Bryant Poet in Poems iv Seize the great thought..And bind, in words, the fleet emotion fast.
3. quasi-adv. Quickly, swiftly. poetic.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > rate of motion > swiftness > [adverb]
yeverlyeOE
cofeOE
snellya1000
whatlichea1000
swiftlyc1000
yernea1023
skeetc1175
swithc1175
whatec1175
lightly?c1225
tidelyc1225
fastlyc1275
swithc1275
fastc1300
quickc1300
titec1300
quicklya1325
rada1325
snellc1330
titelyc1330
swithly?1370
hastlya1375
ketlya1375
ketec1380
speedlyc1380
speedfully1398
keenlya1400
skeetlya1400
speedilya1400
swiftc1400
yederlyc1400
apacea1423
rasha1475
runninglyc1475
speedful?c1480
rackly?a1500
rashly1533
stiffly1535
roundly1548
post1549
fleet1587
fleetly1598
speedy1601
raptly1646
fastisha1650
wingedly1651
rapidly1653
rapid1677
velociously1680
express1765
quicklike1782
spankingly1803
spankily1842
fleetingly1883
quick-foot1891
on the quick-foot1894
zippily1924
1587 M. Grove Pelops & Hippodamia (1878) 82 When a man doth meete With such as stand more than his match, his winning goes to fleete.
1790 A. Wilson Poems 70 Fleet fled the shades of Night.
1878 R. L. Stevenson Inland Voy. 103 A thicket of willows..under which the river ran flush and fleet.

Compounds

C1. General attributive.
fleet-feathered adj.
Π
?1862–63 G. M. Hopkins Poems (1967) 203 Divinity of air, fleet-feather'd gales.
C2.
fleet-foot adj. poetic = fleet-footed adj.; also absol.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > rate of motion > swiftness > going swiftly on foot > [adjective] > performed with or accompanied by running > swift of foot
lightOE
fiery-footed1565
fleet-foot1593
swift-foot1594
wind-foot1598
swift-footed1609
footed as (also like, with) the wind1612
fast-footed?1615
swift-heeled1634
fleet-footed1726
wind-footed1848
1593 W. Shakespeare Venus & Adonis sig. Diiijv As the fleet-foot Roe that's tyr'd with chasing. View more context for this quotation
1865 A. C. Swinburne Atalanta in Calydon 6 Fleeter of foot than the fleet-foot kid.
1940 C. Day Lewis tr. Virgil Georgics iv. 88 Arethusa the fleetfoot, her arrows at last laid by.
fleet-footed adj. fleet of foot, swift in movement; also figurative.
ΘΠ
the world > movement > rate of motion > swiftness > [adjective]
swiftc888
swifta1050
currentc1300
quickc1300
hastivea1325
hastyc1330
ingnel1340
swiftyc1380
speedfula1387
fasta1400
swippingc1420
speedy1487
fleet1528
tite?a1540
scudding1545
flighty1552
suddenly1556
flight1581
feathered1587
Pegasean1590
wing-footed1591
swift-winged?1592
thought-swift-flying1595
wind-winged?1596
swallow-winged1597
Pegasarian1607
skelping1607
rapid1608
night-swifta1616
celerious1632
clipping1635
perniciousa1656
volatile1655
quick-foot1658
meteorous1667
windy1697
high-flying1710
fleet-footed1726
aliped1727
wickc1760
velocious1775
flight-performing1785
fast-going1800
fast-moving1802
meteor1803
wight-wapping1830
fleety1841
speeding1847
swiftening1848
two-forty1855
fire-swift1865
pennate1870
spinning1882
percursory1884
zippy1889
meteoric1895
pacy1906
presto1952
the world > movement > rate of motion > swiftness > going swiftly on foot > [adjective] > performed with or accompanied by running > swift of foot
lightOE
fiery-footed1565
fleet-foot1593
swift-foot1594
wind-foot1598
swift-footed1609
footed as (also like, with) the wind1612
fast-footed?1615
swift-heeled1634
fleet-footed1726
wind-footed1848
1726 R. Savage To Bessy, C'Tess Rochford in Misc. Poems & Transl. 283 Tho' Fate, fleet-footed, scents thy languid Son.
1791 W. Cowper tr. Homer Odyssey in Iliad & Odyssey II. ii. 13 His hounds Fleet-footed follow'd him.
1832 H. W. Longfellow Coplas de Manrique lii Fleet-footed is the approach of woe.
fleet-hound n. ? a greyhound; in later use (see quot. 1888).
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > mammals > group Unguiculata or clawed mammal > family Canidae > hound > [noun] > greyhound
greyhoundeOE
grifhound13..
greybitchc1330
grew-hound?a1400
greundc1420
long-tail1576
Grecian dog1607
fleet-hound1675
1675 London Gaz. No. 1037/4 An old white fleet-hound Bitch.
1680 London Gaz. No. 1550/4 A Brown spotted Foxhound Bitch..a sharp long Red Head, like a Fleet Hound.
1888 H. Dalziel Brit. Dogs (ed. 2) I. 47 The Deerhound..is also named the Rough Greyhound, and the Northern, or Fleet-hound.
fleet-winged adj. having fleet wings, swift of flight.
ΘΠ
the world > movement > progressive motion > moving with current of air or water > motion in the air > [adjective] > flying (as) with wings > flying swiftly
swift-winged?1592
fleet-winged1594
clipping1635
tachypetous1860
1594 W. Shakespeare Lucrece sig. I2 Fleet-wing'd duetie with thoghts feathers flies. View more context for this quotation
1887 C. Bowen tr. Virgil Æneid iv, in tr. Virgil in Eng. Verse 193 Fleet-winged, speedy of foot, a colossal monster and dread.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1896; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

fleetadj.2

Brit. /fliːt/, U.S. /flit/
Forms: Also 1600s flat, 1600s–1800s flet, (1700s flit).
Etymology: < Middle English flet, past participle of fleet v.2 Compare fleeten adj., flatten adj., flotten adj.
Chiefly dialect.
Of milk: Skimmed. Also fleet cheese, cheese made of skimmed milk.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > food manufacture and preparation > preparation of dairy produce > [adjective] > skimmed
skimmed1601
fleet1607
uncreamed1611
the world > food and drink > food > dairy produce > cheese > [noun] > varieties of cheese
goat cheeseOE
green cheesec1390
rowen cheesea1425
bred-cheesec1440
hard cheesec1470
ruen cheese1510
parmesan1538
spermyse1542
angelot1573
cow-cheese1583
goat's cheese1588
Cheshire Cheese1597
eddish-cheese1615
nettle cheese1615
aftermath cheese1631
marsolini1636
Suffolk cheese1636
Cheddar cheesea1661
rowen1673
parmigianoa1684
raw-milk cheesea1687
fleet cheese1688
sage-cheese1714
Rhode Island cheese1733
Stilton cheese1736
Roquefort cheese1762
American cheese1763
fodder cheese1784
Old Peg1785
blue cheese1787
Dunlop cheese1793
Wiltshire1794
Gloucester1802
Gruyère1802
Neufchâtel1814
Limburger cheese1817
Dunlop1818
fog cheese1822
Swiss cheese1822
Suffolk thumpa1825
Stilton1826
skim dick1827
stracchino cheese1832
Blue Vinney1836
Edam1836
Schabzieger1837
sapsago1846
Munster1858
mysost1861
napkin cheese1865
provolone1865
Roquefort1867
Suffolk bang1867
Leicester1874
Brie1876
Camembert1878
Gorgonzola1878
Leicester cheese1880
Port Salut1881
Wensleydale1881
Gouda1885
primost1889
Cantal1890
Suisse1891
bondon1894
Petit Suisse1895
Gervais1896
Lancashire1896
Pont l'Évêque1896
reggiano1896
Romano1897
fontina1898
Caerphilly cheese1901
Derby cheese1902
Emmental1902
Liptauer1902
farmer cheese1904
robiola1907
gjetost1908
reblochon1908
scamorza1908
Cabrales1910
Jack1910
pimento cheese1910
mozzarella1911
pimiento cheese1911
Monterey cheese1912
processed cheese1918
Tillamook1918
tvorog1918
anari1919
process cheese1923
Bel Paese1926
pecorino1931
Oka1936
Parmigiano–Reggiano1936
vacherin1936
Monterey Jack1940
Red Leicester1940
demi-sel1946
tomme1946
Danish blue1948
Tilsit1950
St.-Maure1951
Samsoe1953
Havarti1954
paneer1954
taleggio1954
feta1956
St. Paulin1956
bleu cheese1957
Manchego1957
Ilchester1963
Dolcelatte1964
chèvre1965
Chaource1966
Windsor Red1969
halloumi1970
Montrachet1973
Chaumes1976
Lymeswold1981
cambozola1984
yarg1984
1607 E. Topsell Hist. Foure-footed Beastes 669 In Elsatia..they fat them [sc. hogs] with..barley meale wet with flat milke.
1688 R. Holme Acad. Armory iii. 335/1 Dairy People..make..Flet and unflet Milk Cheese.
1736 Compl. Family-piece iii. 429 Whey, flit Milk, Wash, Grains.
1808 C. Vancouver Gen. View Agric. Devon viii. 230 The milk..stands forty-eight hours before the flet-milk is run off.
1823 E. Moor Suffolk Words at Flet Cheese made of this milk [flet-milk] is called Flet-cheese.
1882 J. H. Nodal & G. Milnar Gloss. Lancashire Dial. Flet-milk.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1896; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

fleetadj.3

Brit. /fliːt/, U.S. /flit/
Etymology: Perhaps representing Old English *fléat , corresponding to Dutch vloot shallow ( < *flauto- ), < root of fleet v.1
Now chiefly dialect and Agriculture.
1.
a. Having little depth; shallow.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > extension in space > measurable spatial extent > vertical extent > shallowness > [adjective]
shoal839
undeepc897
shallow14..
ebbc1425
fluec1440
light1556
fleet1629
depthless1816
1629 F. Quarles Argalus & Parthenia i. 11 Hazard no more To wrack your fortunes on so fleet a shore.
1647 J. Trapp Comm. Evangelists & Acts (Matt. xv. 8) The deeper..the belly of the lute..is, the pleasanter is the sound; the fleeter, the more grating..in our ears.
1767 A. Young Farmer's Lett. 120 Plough a very fleet furrow.
1802 W. Taylor in J. W. Robberds Mem. W. Taylor (1843) I. 407 The milk-trays..should be fleet.
1843 H. W. Longfellow Spanish Student iii. vi. 166 To pass through the dewy grass, And waters wide and fleet.
1882 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Jan. 104 Where the water is fleet and weedy.
b. (That is) at no great depth; near the surface; esp. quasi-adv. in to plough or sow fleet.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > extension in space > measurable spatial extent > vertical extent > shallowness > [adverb]
shoalc1315
shallowly1593
fleet1633
shallowa1706
fleetly1844
1633 D. Rogers Treat. Two Sacraments Gospell i. 160 The root is so..fleet, that it will scarce furnish the tree with leaves.
1674 N. Fairfax Treat. Bulk & Selvedge 185 Sometimes we find Gold..as fleet as the roots of shrubs in Peru.
1707 J. Mortimer Whole Art Husbandry ii. 80 Those Lands must be ploughed fleet.
1803 Ann. Agric. 40 322 ‘Fallow deep, but sow fleet.’
1845 Jrnl. Royal Agric. Soc. 5 ii. 326 The land is ploughed ‘fleet’, or about 3½ inches deep.
1876 G. L. Gower Surrey Provincialisms (at cited word) To plough fleet is to skim-plough land.
†2. Having little depth of soil; ‘light, superficially fruitful’ (Johnson). Obsolete. rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > structure of the earth > constituent materials > earth or soil > soil qualities > [adjective] > shallow
fleet1707
shallow1731
1707 J. Mortimer Whole Art Husbandry ii. 80 Marle Cope-ground, which is commonly a cold, stiff, wet Clay..unless..where it is very fleet for Pasture.

Derivatives

ˈfleetly adv. with little depth; shallowly.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > extension in space > measurable spatial extent > vertical extent > shallowness > [adverb]
shoalc1315
shallowly1593
fleet1633
shallowa1706
fleetly1844
1844 Jrnl. Royal Agric. Soc. 5 i. 19 Sown upon the surface or drilled fleetly.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1896; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

fleetv.1

Brit. /fliːt/, U.S. /flit/
Forms: infinitive Old English fléotan, (3rd person present tense. flýt), Middle English fleoten, (Middle English southern vleoten, wleoten), Middle English fleote, Middle English–1500s flet(e(n, Middle English–1600s fleete, Scottish fleit, Middle English– fleet. past tense Old English fléat, Middle English Orm. flæt, Middle English fleet, flote, Middle English–1500s flet, plural Old English fluton, Middle English fluten, floten; weak forms Middle English fletide, Middle English–1500s flette, 1500s Scottish fletit, fletted, 1600s fle(e)ted. past participle Old English, Middle English floten (see flotten adj.).
Origin: A word inherited from Germanic.
Etymology: A Common Germanic originally strong verb; Old English fléotan (fléat, fluton, floten) to float, corresponding to Old Frisian fliata, Old Saxon fliotan (Middle Dutch, Dutch vlieten) to flow, Old High German flioȥȥan to float, flow (Middle High German vlieȥen, modern German flieszen to flow), Old Norse flióta (Swedish flyta, Danish fl0de) to float, flow (not recorded in Gothic) < Old Germanic *fleutan (flaut, flutum, flotono-), < pre-Germanic root *pleud-, ploud-, plud- (compare Latvian pludināt to float, pludot to flow, plūdi flood, Lithuanian plústi to float away, plūdīs float of a fishing-net), an extended form of the Old Aryan root *pleu-, plu- (compare Greek πλεῖν to sail, Sanskrit plu, pru to swim, float, flow, Latin pluĕre to rain.
I. To float.
1.
a. intransitive. To rest upon the surface of a liquid; to be buoyed up; opposed to sink. Obsolete exc. dialect.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > liquid > action or process of floating > float [verb (intransitive)]
fleetc1000
swimc1000
floata1100
hovec1220
supernate1683
the world > matter > properties of materials > lightness > be light [verb (intransitive)] > rise due to lightness > be buoyant or rise to surface
fleetc1000
floata1100
swim1547
buoya1616
c1000 Ælfric Homilies II. 564 Ageot ele uppon wæter oððe on oðrum wætan, se ele flyt bufon.
c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 10642 Heore scalen wleoteð swulc gold-faȝe sceldes.
1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomew de Glanville De Proprietatibus Rerum (1495) xiii. xxi. 451 An egge fletyth in salte water and synkyth downe in fresshe water.
c1400 (?c1380) Cleanness (1920) l. 1025 Lay þer-on [the Dead Sea] a lump of led & hit on loft fletez.
c1470 J. Hardyng Chron. ccxvi. iv The bodies flete amonge our shippes.
a1475 Bk. Quinte Essence (1889) 9 A liquor of oyle..fletynge aboue in maner of a skyn.
1578 H. Lyte tr. R. Dodoens Niewe Herball i. cci. 142 A water herbe which fleeteth upon the water.
1651 J. French Art Distillation v. 127 The Oil doth naturally fleet above.
1836 W. D. Cooper Gloss. Provinc. Sussex 18 The tide comes in and the vessels fleet.
†b. hyperbolically. To ‘swim’ in blood, tears; to be ‘bathed’ in (happiness, etc.). Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > liquid > condition of being or making wet > action or process of soaking or steeping > be soaked or steeped [verb (intransitive)]
soakc1000
fleet1297
steepc1412
swimc1450
soga1552
macerate1612
sug1633
sapple1836
marinate1984
the mind > emotion > pleasure > happiness > be happy [verb (intransitive)]
fleet1598
bask1647
1297 R. Gloucester's Chron. (1724) 261 Heueden, (þat were of ysmyte,) Flete in blode.
1508 W. Dunbar Goldyn Targe (Chepman & Myllar) in Poems (1998) I. 186 Tullius, quhois lippis suete Off rethorike did in to termes flete.
1598 Chaucers Dreame in T. Speght Wks. G. Chaucer f. 364v/1 Fleting they were in such wele As folke that would in no wise Desire more parfit paradise.
a1600 A. Montgomerie Misc. Poems xxxv. 8 That..My pen in rhetoric may fleit.
?1611 G. Chapman tr. Homer Iliads xix. 204 My friend being dead..Lies in the entry of my tent, and in the tears doth fleet Of his associates.
†c. Of a vessel: To be or get afloat; to sail.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > action or motion of vessel > [verb (intransitive)] > float (of vessel)
swimOE
fleetOE
floata1100
OE Beowulf 1909 Sægenga for, fleat famigheals forð ofer yðe.
c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 15991 Alle þa scipen þa bi þare sæ fluten [c1300 Otho flote].
a1547 Earl of Surrey tr. Virgil Fourth Bk. Aeneas (1554) iv. sig. Ciiiv Now fleetes the talowed kele.
1633 T. James Strange Voy. 82 Our Ship did not fleet.
†2. intransitive. To drift or be carried by the current or tide on the surface of the water. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > progressive motion > moving with current of air or water > movement in or on water > move in or on water [verb (intransitive)] > be carried (away) by current or tide
fleetc897
to-fleeta1122
wash1623
roll1665
tide1896
c897 K. Ælfred tr. Gregory Pastoral Care lviii. 445 Ðæt scip..sceal fleotan mid ðy streame.
a1305 Life Pilate 251 in Early Eng. Poems & Lives Saints (1862) 118 Þat bodie flet vp and doun.
a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 3187 Moyses it [an gold gad] folwede ðider it flet.
c1400 (?c1380) Cleanness l. 421 Þe arc..flote forthe with þe flyt of þe felle wyndez.
1489 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (Adv.) iii. 630 Ye thingis yat yar fletand war Yai tuk.
?1553 (c1501) G. Douglas Palice of Honour (London) iii. l. 1376 in Shorter Poems (1967) 88 Part drynt, and part to the rolke flet [1579 Edinb. fleit] or swam.
1590 C. Marlowe Tamburlaine: 2nd Pt. sig. F4 Sailers..Shall meet those Christians fleeting with the tyde.
†3. transferred. Of mists, clouds, spirits, an odour: To float (in air, etc.); to drift. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > progressive motion > moving with current of air or water > motion in the air > move in the air [verb (intransitive)]
fleetc1400
wave1606
float1637
swim1661
c1400 (?c1380) Pearl l. 46 A fayre reflayr ȝet fro hit flot.
1528 D. Lindsay Dreme 223 Quhow that thay [spirits] lay, in to tha flammis fletyng.
a1623 W. Pemble Short Expos. Zachary (1629) 164 Thin Clouds, fleeting under the thicker and heavier.
1744 Claridge's Shepherd of Banbury's Rules (new ed.) 9 Exhalations which while they fleet near the earth are stiled mists.
†4. To swim: said of fish, occasionally of other animals and men. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > progressive motion > moving with current of air or water > movement in or on water > move in or on water [verb (intransitive)] > swim
swimOE
fleetOE
to oar it1894
OE Beowulf 542 No he wiht fram me flodyþum feor fleotan meahte.
c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 10983 What letteð þene fisc to uleoten to þan oðere.
1377 W. Langland Piers Plowman B. xx. 44 Þe fisshe hath fyn to flete with.
c1400 (?c1380) Cleanness (1920) l. 387 Þe wylde of þe wode on þe water flette.
1488 (c1478) Hary Actis & Deidis Schir William Wallace (Adv.) (1968–9) vii. l. 847 The Irland folk..In craggis clam and sum in wattir flett.
a1547 Earl of Surrey tr. Virgil Certain Bks. Aenæis (1557) ii. sig. Bi By the calme seas come fletyng adders twaine.
a1600 Complaint vi, in Ramsay's Evergreen I. 110 Leander on a stormy Nicht Diet fleitand on the Billous gray.
†5. Of a person: To be afloat (in a vessel); to journey or travel by water; to sail. Also with in. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > [verb (intransitive)]
sailc893
lithec900
fleetc1275
ship13..
assailc1450
waft?a1562
sneir1568
sulk1579
single1587
navigate1588
waff1611
passage1791
the world > relative properties > quantity > sufficient quantity, amount, or degree > abundance > make abundant [verb (transitive)] > abound in or with
flourishc1380
to flow with (in, of)1382
redound1483
fleeta1500
swim1526
rebound1535
abound1591
c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 14452 Forð flet mid vðe folc vnimete.
c1330 (?a1300) Sir Tristrem (1886) l. 365 Þe mariners flet on flod.
c1386 G. Chaucer Man of Law's Tale 365 Yeres and dayes flette this creature Thurghout the see of Grece.
a1500 (a1460) Towneley Plays (1994) I. iii. 43 Apon this flood haue we Flett many day.
1563 B. Googe Eglogs Epytaphes & Sonettes sig. D.iiv Through the Chanell depe..he fleets a pace.
1688 S. Sewall Diary 14 Aug. (1973) I. 174 They..lay aground a pretty while before they could fleet in.
1725 D. Defoe New Voy. round World ii. 161 They might Fleet down this River.
†6. To move unsteadily, as a floating object; to shift or sway (to and fro, etc.); to fluctuate, waver. Both of material and immaterial things. Obsolete.In 16–17th centuries sometimes adopted to render the like-sounding Latin fluitare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > change > changeableness > be changeable [verb (intransitive)]
fleetc1374
reel1495
flight1568
brandle1606
flash1608
revarya1618
adjust1898
to bob and weave1975
the world > movement > motion in specific manner > irregular movement or agitation > unsteady movement > move unsteadily [verb (intransitive)]
hobblec1330
wave1406
stamperc1450
fleet15..
titubate1540
wamble1589
tilt1594
vacillate1598
waggle1611
wimple1819
wangle1820
waver1841
lurch1851
woggle1871
teeter1904
c1374 G. Chaucer tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. i. pr. vi. 28 Wenest þou þat þise mutaciouns of fortune fleten wiþ outen gouernour.
15.. Ragman Roll 20 in W. C. Hazlitt Remains Early Pop. Poetry Eng. (1864) I. 70 She changyth euer, and fletyth to and fro.
1571 A. Golding tr. J. Calvin Psalmes of Dauid with Comm. (xxv. 15) Those that by fleeting to and fro forge sundry wayes to save themselves.
1578 J. Lyly Euphues f. 14 Can Euphues conuince me of fleetinge, seeing for his sake I breake my fidelitie.
1591 H. Savile tr. Tacitus Ende of Nero: Fower Bks. Hist. iii. 130 Those..who rowled down huge stones..forced the frame to stagger and fleete.
1638 T. Herbert Some Yeares Trav. (rev. ed.) 6 Shadowlesse when Sol is Zenith, from which point when it fleets either North or South [etc.].
II. To flow (and derived senses).
†7.
a. Of liquid, esp. water, a river: To flow. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > water > flow or flowing > flow [verb (intransitive)]
runeOE
flowa1000
fleetc1175
stretchc1275
slide1390
fleamc1465
pour1538
slip1596
streek1598
strain1612
put1670
rindle1863
slosha1953
c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 18093 Se waterr stræm. Aȝȝ fleteþþ forþ. & erneþþ. Towarrd te sæ.
c1425 Festivals of the Church 177 in Leg. Rood (1871) 261 Till fele teres gan flete.
c1540 (?a1400) Destr. Troy 1609 The water went vnder houses..And clensit by course all þe clene Cite Of filth and of feum, throughe fletyng by nethe.
1587 J. Hooker tr. Giraldus Cambrensis Vaticinall Hist. Conquest Ireland i. i. 2/1 in Holinshed's Chron. (new ed.) II The riuer of the Surie..fleeteth by the citie of Waterford.
1595 E. Spenser Colin Clouts come Home Againe sig. C4v Her words were like a streame of honny fleeting.
1610 W. Folkingham Feudigraphia i. v. 10 Waters, which flit and fleete to and fro with wind-catches.
a1640 T. Risdon Chorogr. Surv. Devon (1811) (modernized text) 238 Still gliding forth, altho' it fleet full slow.
†b. transferred. Of a multitude of persons: To ‘stream’. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > [verb (intransitive)] > pass in continuous stream
passc1330
flowa1382
fleet1596
stream1735
1596 J. Dalrymple tr. J. Leslie Hist. Scotl. (1895) II. 403 Cumis flowing and fleeting vnto thame..troupis of the commoun peple.
1638 in Maidment Sc. Pasquils (1868) 29 Huge troups from quarters came fleeting.
†8.
a. To overflow, abound. Const. with. (Cf. ‘flowing with milk and honey’). Obsolete. [So Old Norse flióta: see Fritzner s.v.]
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > quantity > sufficient quantity, amount, or degree > abundance > abound [verb (intransitive)] > flow or fall abundantly
overflowOE
rainc1175
streama1250
overfleeta1325
fleetc1374
gush?a1400
pour1538
troll1576
to rain in1596
c1374 G. Chaucer tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. i. metr. ii. 8 Who makeþ þat plenteuouse autumpne in fulle ȝeres fletiþ wiþ heuy grapes.
c1374 G. Chaucer tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. iv. pr. vii. 146 Ne hast [þou] nat comen to fleten wiþ delices.
a1529 J. Skelton Magnyfycence (?1530) sig. Di With fantasyes my wyt dothe flete.
†b. transitive. To overrun, flood, fill abundantly. Obsolete. rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > extension in space > spreading or diffusion > [verb (transitive)] > spread over or through (something) > in injurious manner
overgoOE
fleetc1400
overruna1538
the world > relative properties > quantity > sufficient quantity, amount, or degree > abundance > make abundant [verb (transitive)] > fill (a place) abundantly
fleetc1400
swarm1555
c1400 (?c1380) Cleanness (1920) l. 685 So folk schal falle fro, to flete alle þe worlde.
9. intransitive.
†a. To dissolve or waste away; to become disintegrated, fall to pieces. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > condition of matter > bad condition of matter > deteriorate in condition [verb (intransitive)] > decompose, crumble, or melt away
melteOE
fleetc1384
dissolvec1420
unbindc1450
loosec1480
moulder1531
mirtlec1540
mould1542
moulter1568
mutter1609
mosker1612
disband1633
dust1636
dissipatea1676
deliquesce1792
decompose1793
disintegrate1817
c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) 1 Macc. ix. 7 Judas sawȝ for his oost flette [a1425 L.V. fleet (L. defluxit)] awey.
c1420 Pallad. on Husb. xii. 211 Yit pulle hem [plommes] rather then thai flete atwynne.
1583 P. Stubbes Second Pt. Anat. Abuses sig. F3 Leather scarcely halfe tanned..within two or three daies or a week wearing (especially if it come in any weat) wil..fleete and run abroad like a dishclout.
1598 W. Phillip tr. J. H. van Linschoten Disc. Voy. E. & W. Indies i. xxxiv. 67/1 The bankes of sand doe fleete and vade away out of the Riuer.
a1661 T. Fuller Worthies (1662) Mddx. 177 Leather thus leisurely tanned..will prove serviceable, which otherwise will quickly fleet and rag out.
b. Of immaterial things: To fade or vanish, die out. Also with away. Obsolete or archaic (blending with sense 10).
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > existence > non-existence > be non-existent [verb (intransitive)] > end or cease to exist
tirec725
endOE
forfareOE
goc1175
fleec1200
to wend awayc1225
diea1240
to-melta1240
to pass awaya1325
flit1340
perishc1350
vanisha1375
decorre1377
cease1382
dispend1393
failc1400
overshakec1425
surcease1439
adrawc1450
fall1523
decease1538
define1562
fleet1576
expire1595
evanish1597
extinguish1599
extirp1606
disappear1623
evaporatea1631
trans-shift1648
annihilate1656
exolve1657
cancela1667
to pass off1699
to burn out, forth1832
spark1845
to die out1853
to come, go, etc. by the board1859
sputter1964
1576 T. Newton tr. L. Lemnie Touchstone of Complexions ii. iv. f. 120 No stampe, forme or print, but such, as presently fleeteth, and immediatly vanisheth.
1600 W. Shakespeare Merchant of Venice iii. ii. 108 How all the other passions fleet to ayre. View more context for this quotation
1616 B. Jonson Poëtaster (rev. ed.) To Rdr., in Wks. I. 352 What they write 'gainst me, Shall like a figure, drawne in water, fleete.
1787 F. Burney Diary 26 Feb. (1842) III. 335 Mr. Turbulent's compassion..fleeted away from the diversion of this recital.
1846 J. Keble Lyra Innocentium 103 The deeds we do, the words we say,—Into still air they seem to fleet.
10.
a. To glide away like a stream; to slip away, change position imperceptibly or stealthily; hence in wider sense, to flit, migrate, remove, vanish. Also with away. Now only archaic of immaterial things, and with mixture of sense 11.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sight and vision > invisibility > be or become invisible [verb (intransitive)] > vanish or disappear
formeltc893
wendOE
witea1000
aworthc1000
fleec1200
fleetc1200
withdraw1297
vanish1303
voidc1374
unkithea1400
startc1405
disappearc1425
disparishc1425
to fall awayc1443
evanish?a1475
vade1495
sinka1500
vade1530
fly1535
fadea1538
melt?1567
dispear1600
relinquish1601
foist1603
dispersea1616
to vanish (melt, etc.) into thin aira1616
dissipate1626
retire1647
evaporate1713
merge1802
illude1820
to foam off1826
dislimn1833
furl1844
to step out1844
evanesce1855
shade1880
wisp1883
to go to the winds1884
walk1898
to do a disappearing act1913
to go west1916
to do (or take) a fade1949
to phase out1970
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > going away > go away [verb (intransitive)] > go away quietly or stealthily
steal1154
to steal one's wayc1385
skew?a1400
astealc1400
fleetc1400
slip?c1450
shrink1530
flinch1563
shift1594
foist1603
shab1699
slope1851
smuggle1865
sneak1896
mope1914
to oil out1945
society > travel > aspects of travel > departure, leaving, or going away > depart, leave, or go away [verb (intransitive)] > quietly or stealthily
fleetc1400
slip?c1450
flinch1563
shift1594
slope1851
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > secrecy, concealment > stealthy action, stealth > stealthy movement > move stealthily [verb (intransitive)] > move off or away
steal1154
atslip?c1225
atcreepc1275
to steal one's wayc1385
glide1393
atslikec1400
fleetc1400
flinch1563
outsteala1586
leer1586
shift1594
shab1699
slive1707
ghost1833
to oil out1945
c1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 177 Alle woreld þing ben fleted alse water erninde.
c1400 (?c1390) Sir Gawain & Green Knight (1940) l. 714 Mony klyf he ouer-clambe in contrayeȝ straunge; Fer floten fro his frendeȝ fremedly he rydeȝ.
a1425 (c1395) Bible (Wycliffite, L.V.) (Royal) (1850) Exod. xxxix. 19 Lest tho [ryngis] weren loose and fletiden doun.
1565 A. Golding tr. Caesar Martiall Exploytes in Gallia iv. f. 95v The Sycambres had..fleeted out of theyr country.
1612 R. Grenewey tr. Tacitus Annales (rev. ed.) vi. iii. 126 But Rubrius Fabatus..fleeting to the Parthians, and brought backe..by a Centurion, had keepers appointed him.
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost iii. 457 All th' unaccomplisht works of Natures hand,..Dissolvd on earth, fleet hither. View more context for this quotation
1717 E. Fenton Poems The wand'ring ghosts..Fleet sullen to the shades.
a1839 W. M. Praed Poems (1864) II. 48 The cares of boyhood fleet away.
1873 J. A. Symonds Stud. Greek Poets iii. 75 The wealth that the gods give lasts, and fleets not away.
b. Of the soul: To pass away from the body; hence said of a dying man.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > death > [verb (intransitive)] > of soul: to leave body
unbodyc1374
fleeta1593
a1593 C. Marlowe Edward II (1594) sig. I2 Our soules are fleeted hence.
a1640 J. Fletcher & P. Massinger Spanish Curat iv. v, in F. Beaumont & J. Fletcher Comedies & Trag. (1647) sig. Gv/1 Bar. I am sorry..To find ye in so weake a state. Die... I am fleeting, sir.
1713 R. Steele in Guardian 1 Apr. 2/1 You teach that Souls..fleeting hence to other Regions stray.
c. Of time: To pass rapidly and imperceptibly; to slip away. With mixture of the sense of fleet adj.1
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > duration > shortness or brevity in time > swift movement of time > be transitory, fly past [verb (intransitive)]
speeda1400
unlasta1400
fleeta1542
flit1574
fly1609
spin1849
a1542 T. Wyatt Coll. Poems (1969) xxxi. 9 My plaisaunt dayes they flete away and passe.
1621 J. Molle tr. P. Camerarius Liuing Libr. iii. i. 149 Six hundred yeares being fleeted away since.
1718 M. Prior Poems Several Occasions (new ed.) 297 The busie Moments..That fleet between the Cradle and the Grave.
1818 S. T. Coleridge Gen. Introd. or Treat. on Method 8 in Encycl. Metrop. I He organizes the hours..the very essence of which is to fleet, and to have been.
1874 F. W. Farrar Silence & Voices of God xi. 195 Time may fleet, and youth may fade.
d. transitive. To pass, while away (time); also, to fleet it. rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > spending time > spend time or allow time to pass [verb (transitive)]
overdoOE
adreeOE
wreaka1300
to draw forthc1300
dispend1340
pass1340
drivea1375
wastec1381
occupyc1384
overpassa1387
to pass over ——a1393
usec1400
spend1423
contrive?a1475
overdrive1487
consumea1500
to pass forth1509
to drive off1517
lead1523
to ride out1529
to wear out, forth1530
to pass away?1550
to put offc1550
shiftc1562
to tire out1563
wear1567
to drive out1570
entertainc1570
expire1589
tire1589
outwear1590
to see out1590
outrun1592
outgo1595
overshoot1597
to pass out1603
fleeta1616
elapse1654
term1654
trickle1657
to put over1679
absorb1686
spin1696
exercise1711
kill1728
to get through ——1748
to get over ——1751
tickc1870
fill1875
the world > time > spending time > spend time [verb (intransitive)]
to fleet it1891
a1616 W. Shakespeare As you like It (1623) i. i. 112 Many yong Gentlemen..fleet the time carelesly. View more context for this quotation
1858 G. H. Lewes Sea-side Stud. 396 Fleeting the quiet hour in observation of his pets.
1891 Sat. Rev. 8 Aug. 151/1 They read the Coinage Bill a third time, and so fleeted it goldenly..till one o'clock a.m.
11. intransitive. To move swiftly; to flit, fly. Also with away. Cf. fleet adj.1
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > rate of motion > swiftness > move swiftly [verb (intransitive)]
lakeOE
flyOE
runOE
scour13..
jace1393
hie1398
spina1400
fleetc1400
glentc1400
stripc1400
suea1450
carryc1450
speed1488
scud1532
streek1598
winga1616
to clip it1616
hackney1617
swifta1618
whirryc1630
dust1673
whew1684
race1702
stroke1735
cut1797
spank1807
skid1815
speela1818
crack1824
skimmer1824
slap1827
clip1832
skeet1838
marvel1841
lick1850
travel1850
rush1852
zip1852
sail1876
rabbit1887
move1906
high-tail1908
to ball the jack1914
buzz1914
shift1922
giddap1938
burn1942
hoosh1943
bomb1966
shred1977
c1400 (?c1390) Sir Gawain & Green Knight (1940) l. 1566 So felle floneȝ þer flete when þe folk gedered.
1703 N. Rowe Fair Penitent v. i. 1885 Whether thro' the upper Air we fleet.
1801 Lusignan IV. 218 He fleeted across the plain.
1818 Hogg in Blackwood's Mag. 4 76 Yon little cloud..That..fleets away Beyond the very springs of day.
1836 T. Hook Gilbert Gurney III. 325 The thought had scarcely fleeted through my brain.
1856 A. P. Stanley Sinai & Palestine (1858) i. 67 Sheets of sand fleeting along the surface of the Desert.
III. Nautical uses.
12. Nautical. transitive. To change the position of, shift (a block, rope, etc.). Also absol. [Substituted for the earlier flit v. 1d owing probably to association with sense 10.]
ΚΠ
1769 W. Falconer Universal Dict. Marine at Jigger To fleet it, or replace in a proper state of action... The man who performs this office..calls out, fleet, jigger!
1859 F. A. Griffiths Artillerist's Man. (1862) 107 To fleet blocks is to bring them as close together as possible.
1867 W. H. Smyth & E. Belcher Sailor's Word-bk. Fleeting, the act of changing the situation of a tackle when the blocks are drawn together; also, changing the position of the dead-eyes, when the shrouds are become too long..Fleet ho! the order given at such times.
1867 W. H. Smyth & E. Belcher Sailor's Word-bk. Fleet the messenger, when about to weigh, to shift the eyes of the messenger past the capstan for the heavy heave.
1882 G. S. Nares Seamanship (ed. 6) 61 Fleet the purchase down to the water's edge.

Derivatives

ˈfleeted adj.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > duration > shortness or brevity in time > swift movement of time > [adjective]
slidinga900
scrithingOE
henwardOE
swifta1225
short livya1325
passing1340
flittingc1374
shadowy1374
temporalc1384
speedfula1400
transitory?c1400
brittlea1425
unabidingc1430
frail?c1450
indurablec1450
scrithel?c1475
caduke1483
transitorious1492
passanta1500
perishinga1500
caducea1513
fugitive?1518
caducal?1548
quick1548
delible1549
flittering1549
undurable?1555
shadowish1561
fleeting1563
vading1566
flightful1571
wanzing1571
transitive1575
slipping1581
diary1583
unlasting1585
never-lasting1588
flit1590
post-like1594
running1598
short-lived1598
short-winded1598
transient1599
unpermanent1607
flashy1609
of a day1612
passable1613
dureless1614
urgenta1616
waxena1616
decayable1617
horary1620
evanid1626
fugitable1628
short-dated1632
fugacious1635
ephemerala1639
impermanent1653
fungous1655
volatile1655
ephemerousa1660
unimmortal1667
timesome1674
while-being1674
of passage1680
journal1685
ephemeron1714
admovent1727
evanescent1728
meteorous1750
deciduous1763
preterient1786
ephemeridal1795
meteorica1802
meteor1803
ephemerean1804
ephemerid1804
evanescing1805
fleeted1810
fleet1812
unenduring1814
unremaining1817
unimmortalized1839
impersistent1849
flighty1850
uneternal1862
caducous1863
diurnal1866
horarious1866
brisk1879
evasive1881
picaresque1959
the world > physical sensation > sight and vision > invisibility > [adjective] > vanishing or disappearing > vanished
vanished1594
disappeared1647
fleeted1810
1810 P. B. Shelley Zastrozzi viii. 103 Matilda..succeeded in recalling to life Verezzi's fleeted faculties.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1896; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

fleetv.2

Brit. /fliːt/, U.S. /flit/
Forms: Middle English fletyn, 1500s–1600s flet(e, 1500s, 1800s dialect flit, 1500s– fleet; past participle Middle English flet.
Etymology: The precise formation is somewhat uncertain; probably < Old English flét cream, < root of fléotan fleet v.1; compare Swedish dialect flöta , Middle Danish fløde (modern af-fløde ) of equivalent etymology. But as the Dutch vlieten (= fleet v.1) occurs in this sense, the English verb may possibly be a use of fleet v.1
Obsolete exc. dialect.
1.
a. transitive. To take off that which floats upon the surface of a liquid; esp. to skim (milk, the cream from milk). Also with complement.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > freedom from impurities > removal of impurities > removal of scum > remove scum from [verb (transitive)]
despumec1400
scumc1400
skimc1430
fleetc1440
flote1573
despumate1651
c1440 Promptorium Parvulorum 166/2 Flet, as mylke or oþer lyke, despumatus.
c1440 Promptorium Parvulorum 167/1 Fletyn, or skomyn ale, or pottys, or oþer lycoure that hovythe, despumo.
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 551/2 Let us go flete this mylke agaynst she come to make her butter.
1577 B. Googe tr. C. Heresbach Foure Bks. Husbandry iii. f. 146v The Creame that swyms aloft, is fleeted of.
1601 P. Holland tr. Pliny Hist. World II. 388 The fat which is fleeted or skimmed from the broth wherin dormice and rats be sodden.
1615 G. Markham Eng. House-wife (1668) ii. ii. 78 Boyl it..ever and anon fleeting it clean.
1725 R. Bradley Chomel's Dictionaire Œconomique at Milk You ought to fleet it [milk] by the Heat of warm Water.
a1796 Vancouver in A. Young Ess. Agric. (1813) II. 285 The milk of which cows..after standing 24 hours, is fleeted.
1836 W. D. Cooper Gloss. Provinc. Sussex 19 Fleet or Flit, to skim milk.
b. transferred and figurative.
ΚΠ
1580 J. Lyly Euphues & his Eng. (new ed.) f. 58v It is he..yt wil fleete all the fat from thy bearde.
1583 A. Golding tr. J. Calvin Serm. on Deuteronomie cxcvi. 1221 Wee shall not occupie the trade of marchandice by sea, we shall not flit off the fatte thereof.
1632 F. Quarles Divine Fancies (1660) ii. xxviii. 60 We Fleet the Mornings for our own design.
a1661 T. Fuller Worthies (1662) Oxf. 327 Let us Fleet the Cream of a few of the primest Libraries in all ages.
Categories »
2. ‘To Fleate. To skim fresh water off the sea, as practised at the mouths of the Rhone, the Nile, &c.’ (Smyth Sailor's Word-bk. 1867).

Derivatives

ˈfleeted adj.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > freedom from impurities > removal of impurities > removal of scum > [adjective] > having scum removed
scummedc1425
flotte1557
skimmed1558
fleeted1580
flotten1600
1580 C. Hollyband Treasurie French Tong Laict esburré, fleeted milke.
1583 C. Hollyband Campo di Fior 161 Upon fishe-dayes, fleeted milke.
1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Escremé, vncreamed, fleeted, as milk.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1896; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

fleetv.3

Brit. /fliːt/, U.S. /flit/
Etymology: ? < fleet n.1 3.
intransitive. ? To fish with a ‘fleet’.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > hunting > fishing > type or method of fishing > [verb (intransitive)] > fish with net > with other nets
fleet1630
rug1630
drive1635
pouse1689
scringe1793
splash1855
1630 Order in R. Griffiths Ess. Jurisdict. Thames (1746) 78 No Peter-man..shall fleet for Flounders with any Rug-Net in the Night-time.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1896; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1a1000n.2c893n.31829n.41880adj.11528adj.21607adj.31629v.1c897v.2c1440v.31630
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