flee

  1. (intransitive) To run away; to escape.
  2. (transitive) To escape from.
  3. (intransitive) To disappear quickly; to vanish; to fleet.

Frequency

C1
Pronounced as (IPA)
/fliː/
Etymology

In summary

From Middle English flen, from Old English flēon, from Proto-Germanic *fleuhaną, from Proto-Indo-European *plewk-, *plew- (“to fly, flow, run”). Cognate with Dutch vlieden, German fliehen, Icelandic flýja, Swedish fly, Gothic 𐌸𐌻𐌹𐌿𐌷𐌰𐌽 (þliuhan). Within English, related to fly and more distantly to flow.

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