Fledge
/flɛdʒ/noun
To grow feathers, or to become capable of flight; also, to fully develop or mature.
Did you know?The word comes from the same Old English root as *flee* and *fly*, because in the oldest Germanic sense it was bound to the idea of movement through the air.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*pleu-
“to flow, float, fly”
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*flugjōną / *flugjaną
“to fly, move through the air”
Old English
OE
flycge / fledgian
“to make fledged, to feather or enable to fly”
Middle English
ME
flegge / fledge
“to grow feathers, become able to fly”
Modern English
English
fledge
“to develop feathers and become capable of flight”