Fly \Fly\ (fl[imac]), v. i. [imp. Flew (fl[=u]); p. p. Flown
(fl[=o]n); p. pr. & vb. n. Flying.] [OE. fleen, fleen,
fleyen, flegen, AS. fle['o]gan; akin to D. vliegen, OHG.
fliogan, G. fliegen, Icel. flj[=u]ga, Sw. flyga, Dan. flyve,
Goth. us-flaugjan to cause to fly away, blow about, and perh.
to L. pluma feather, E. plume. [root]84. Cf. Fledge,
Flight, Flock of animals.]
1. To move in or pass through the air with wings, as a bird.
2. To move through the air or before the wind; esp., to pass
or be driven rapidly through the air by any impulse.
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3. To float, wave, or rise in the air, as sparks or a flag.
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Man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward.
--Job v. 7.
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4. To move or pass swiftly; to hasten away; to circulate
rapidly; as, a ship flies on the deep; a top flies around;
rumor flies.
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Fly, envious Time, till thou run out thy race.
--Milton.
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The dark waves murmured as the ships flew on.
--Bryant.
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5. To run from danger; to attempt to escape; to flee; as, an
enemy or a coward flies. See Note under Flee.
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Fly, ere evil intercept thy flight. --Milton.
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Whither shall I fly to escape their hands ? --Shak.
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6. 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.
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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.
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Let \Let\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Let (Letted (l[e^]t"t[e^]d),
[Obs].); p. pr. & vb. n. Letting.] [OE. leten, l[ae]ten
(past tense lat, let, p. p. laten, leten, lete), AS.
l[=ae]tan (past tense l[=e]t, p. p. l[=ae]ten); akin to
OFries. l[=e]ta, OS. l[=a]tan, D. laten, G. lassen, OHG.
l[=a]zzan, Icel. l[=a]ta, Sw. l[*a]ta, Dan. lade, Goth.
l[=e]tan, and L. lassus weary. The original meaning seems to
have been, to let loose, let go, let drop. Cf. Alas,
Late, Lassitude, Let to hinder.]
1. To leave; to relinquish; to abandon. [Obs. or Archaic,
except when followed by alone or be.]
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He . . . prayed him his voyage for to let.
--Chaucer.
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Yet neither spins nor cards, ne cares nor frets,
But to her mother Nature all her care she lets.
--Spenser.
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Let me alone in choosing of my wife. --Chaucer.
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2. To consider; to think; to esteem. [Obs.] --Chaucer.
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3. To cause; to make; -- used with the infinitive in the
active form but in the passive sense; as, let make, i. e.,
cause to be made; let bring, i. e., cause to be brought.
[Obs.]
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This irous, cursed wretch
Let this knight's son anon before him fetch.
--Chaucer.
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He . . . thus let do slay hem all three. --Chaucer.
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Anon he let two coffers make. --Gower.
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4. To permit; to allow; to suffer; -- either affirmatively,
by positive act, or negatively, by neglecting to restrain
or prevent.
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Note: In this sense, when followed by an infinitive, the
latter is commonly without the sign to; as to let us
walk, i. e., to permit or suffer us to walk. Sometimes
there is entire omission of the verb; as, to let [to be
or to go] loose.
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Pharaoh said, I will let you go. --Ex. viii.
28.
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If your name be Horatio, as I am let to know it
is. --Shak.
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5. To allow to be used or occupied for a compensation; to
lease; to rent; to hire out; -- often with out; as, to let
a farm; to let a house; to let out horses.
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6. To give, grant, or assign, as a work, privilege, or
contract; -- often with out; as, to let the building of a
bridge; to let out the lathing and the plastering.
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Note: The active form of the infinitive of let, as of many
other English verbs, is often used in a passive sense;
as, a house to let (i. e., for letting, or to be let).
This form of expression conforms to the use of the
Anglo-Saxon gerund with to (dative infinitive) which
was commonly so employed. See Gerund, 2. " Your
elegant house in Harley Street is to let." --Thackeray.
In the imperative mood, before the first person plural,
let has a hortative force. " Rise up, let us go."
--Mark xiv. 42. " Let us seek out some desolate shade."
--Shak.
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To let alone, to leave; to withdraw from; to refrain from
interfering with.
To let blood, to cause blood to flow; to bleed.
To let down.
(a) To lower.
(b) To soften in tempering; as, to let down tools,
cutlery, and the like.
To let fly or To let drive, to discharge with violence,
as a blow, an arrow, or stone. See under Drive, and
Fly.
To let in or To let into.
(a) To permit or suffer to enter; to admit.
(b) To insert, or imbed, as a piece of wood, in a recess
formed in a surface for the purpose.
To let loose, to remove restraint from; to permit to wander
at large.
To let off.
(a) To discharge; to let fly, as an arrow; to fire the
charge of, as a gun.
(b) To release, as from an engagement or obligation.
[Colloq.]
To let out.
(a) To allow to go forth; as, to let out a prisoner.
(b) To extend or loosen, as the folds of a garment; to
enlarge; to suffer to run out, as a cord.
(c) To lease; to give out for performance by contract, as
a job.
(d) To divulge.
To let slide, to let go; to cease to care for. [Colloq.] "
Let the world slide." --Shak.
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