Etymology Explorer › Middle English

Where does “fleten” come from?

fleten (Middle English) comes from Old English flēotan, from Proto-West Germanic fleutan, from Proto-Germanic fleutaną, from Proto-Indo-European plewd-, from Proto-Indo-European plew- — to fly, flow, run.

fleten (Middle English): To go or change position; to experience movement;...

Definitions

  1. To go or change position; to experience movement;...

Ancestry of “fleten”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Englishflēotanfloat; to float, swim
2Proto-West Germanicfleutanto float; to stream
3Proto-Germanicfleutanąto float, stream
4Proto-Indo-Europeanplewd-to fly, flow, run
5Proto-Indo-Europeanplew-to fly, flow, run

Words derived from “fleten”

  • fleeting
  • fleetingly
  • fleetingness
Every word from Proto-Indo-European plew- →