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Origin and history of flee

flee(v.)

Old English fleon, flion "take flight, fly from, avoid, escape" (contracted class II strong verb; past tense fleah, past participle flogen), from Proto-Germanic *fleuhanan "to run away" (source also of Old High German fliohan, Old Norse flöja, Old Frisian flia, Dutch vlieden, German fliehen, Gothic þliuhan "to flee"), probably from PIE *pleuk-, extended form of root *pleu- "to flow," but Boutkan is not convinced. Also compare fly (v.2).

Weak past tense and past participle fled emerged in Middle English under influence of Scandinavian. Old English had a transitive form, geflieman "put to flight, banish, drive away," which came in handy in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. Related: fled; Fleeing.

Entries linking to flee

fly(v.2)

"run away," Old English fleon, flion "fly from, avoid, escape;" in this use the modern word is essentially a variant spelling of flee (q.v.).

In Old English, this verb and fleogan "soar through the air with wings" (modern fly (v.1), q.v.) differed only in their present tense forms and often were confused.

They have been distinguished from one another since 14c. in the past tense: flew (occasionally flied) for fly (v.1), fled for fly (v.2).

To fly the coop "escape, depart at once" is U.S. colloquial attested by 1887, a reference to caged birds and etymologically perhaps involving both verbs.

fled

past tense and past participle of flee (q.v.) and fly (v.2).

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fugitive
French fugitif, fuitif "absent, missing," from Latin fugitivus "fleeing," past-participle adjective from stem of fugere "to flee...; pass quickly; vanish, disappear, perish; avoid, shun; escape the notice of, be unknown to," from PIE root *bheug- "to flee..." (source also of Greek pheugein "to flee, escape, go into exile, be on the run," phyza "(wild) flight, panic," phyge "flight...
refuge
late 14c., from Old French refuge "hiding place" (12c.), from Latin refugium "a taking refuge; a place of refuge, place to flee...back to," from re- "back" (see re-) + fugere "to flee" (see fugitive (adj.)) + -ium neuter suffix in a sense of "place for...
refugee
refugier "to take shelter, protect," from Old French refuge "hiding place," from Latin refugium "a taking refuge; place to flee...back to," from re- "back" (see re-) + fugere "to flee" (see fugitive (adj.)) + -ium , neuter ending in a sense of "place...
phobia
(compare phobein "put to flight; frighten"), from PIE root *bhegw- "to run" (source also of Lithuanian bėgu, bėgti "to flee...;" Old Church Slavonic begu "flight," bezati "to flee, run;" Old Norse bekkr "a stream")....
scatter
The intransitive sense, "go or flee in different directions, disperse" is from c. 1300....
incur
oneself;" mid-15c. as "become liable for (payment or expenses)," from Anglo-French encurir, Old French encorir "to run, flee...
runaway
1540s (late 13c. as a surname), "one who flees or departs; a fugitive, deserter," from the verbal phrase run away "flee in...
elope
1590s, "to run off," probably from Middle Dutch (ont)lopen "run away," from ont- "away from" (from Proto-Germanic *und- which also gave the first element in until, from PIE root *ant- "front, forehead," with derivatives meaning "in front of, before") + lopen "to run," from Proto-
urn
late 14c., "large, rounded vase used to preserve the ashes of the dead," from Latin urna "a jar, vessel of baked clay, water-jar; vessel for the ashes of the dead" (also used as a ballot box and for drawing lots), probably from earlier *urc-na, akin to urceus "pitcher, jug," and
run
Old English, "move swiftly by using the legs, go on legs more rapidly than walking," also "make haste, hurry; be active, pursue or follow a course," and, of inanimate things, "to move over a course." The modern verb is a merger of two related Old English words, in both of which t

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