Where does “fly” come from?
fly (Danish) comes from Danish flyvemaskine, from Danish maskine, from Latin māchina, from Ancient Greek μαχανά, from Ancient Greek μηχανή, from Ancient Greek μῆχος, from Proto-Indo-European meǵʰ- — to be able.
fly (Danish): airplane; to flee; to shun
Definitions
- airplane; to flee; to shun
Ancestry of “fly”, step by step
fly traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.
via Danish flyvemaskine
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Danish | flyvemaskine | airplane, aeroplane |
| 2 | Danish | maskine | machine; engine |
| 3 | Latin | māchina | contrivance |
| 4 | Ancient Greek | μαχανά | Doric form of μηχᾰνή |
| 5 | Ancient Greek | μηχανή | contrivance, machine, device, gear; way, means |
| 6 | Ancient Greek | μῆχος | means, expedient, remedy |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | meǵʰ- | to be able |
via Old Norse flýja
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Old Norse | flýja | to flee |
| 2 | Proto-Germanic | fleuhaną | to flee; to escape |
via Middle Low German vlīen
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle Low German | vlīen | to stack, sort out |