flee etymology

Etymology

• Old English fleon, meaning "to run away"
• From Proto-Germanic fleuhanan, meaning "to flee"
• Cognate with Old Norse fljúga, Old Frisian flia, Old High German fliohan, Middle Dutch vlien, Dutch vlieden, German fliehen

Meaning and Origin

The verb "flee" means to run away from danger, pursuers, or an unpleasant situation. It has been in use in English since the 11th century.

The word "flee" is derived from the Old English verb fleon, which itself comes from the Proto-Germanic root fleuhanan. This root is also the origin of the words "flow" and "flight."

The original sense of "flee" was "to flow," and it was not until later that it came to mean "to run away." This shift in meaning may be due to the fact that fleeing often involves moving quickly and smoothly, like a flowing liquid.

"Flee" is a strong verb, meaning that it forms its past tense and past participle irregularly. The past tense of "flee" is "fled," and the past participle is "fled."

flee relate terms

• flee

  Etymology Old English fleon meaning to run away From Proto Germanic fleuhanan meanin

• fled

  Etymology The word fled comes from the Old English word fleon which means to flee

• flee

  Etymology Old English fleon meaning to run away From Proto Germanic fleuhanan meanin

• fugitive

  Etymology From Middle English fugityf fugitive runaway from Latin fugitivus fugiti

• refuge

  Etymology The word refuge comes from the Old French word refuige which in turn derives fr

• refugee

  Etymology of Refugee The word refugee originates from the French word réfugié m

• phobia

  Etymology The word phobia originates from the Greek word phobos meaning fear or

• scatter

  Etymology Old English scateran to scatter spread disperse Middle English scateren P

• incur

  Etymology The word incur comes from the Late Latin verb incurrere which means to r

• runaway

  Etymology Late Middle English as a noun from run v away adv The verb sense