fleecy 
3. Pertaining to or characteristic of wool. 
The moon shining full, the clouds all floating away in 
Iliasst-s ufjlrt'i-if \vllitrlirss. 
.17 rx. (tllflinttt. 1'inir (Jentli-niall, x. 
II. H. A loosely twisted yarn, used for knit- 
ting. 
fleedt, An obsolete dialectal (Scotch) variant 
of flood. 
Alas ! for your staying sae lang frae the land : 
Sae lang frae the land, and sae lamr f ra the fleed. 
Lord Salton and Auchanachie (Child s Ballads, II. 170). 
fleeght. An obsolete preterit of fly 1 . 
fleek (flek), . Same as fleck 3 . 
fleemt, " * [ME. fleemen, flemen, < AS. flyman, 
ye-fli/man, geflieman, ycfleman, cause to nee, put 
to flight, banish, < flyma, flicma, flema, a fugi- 
tive, < fledn, flee, cause to flee : see flee 1 . Cf. 
flemens-firth.] To cause to flee ; banish ; expel. 
Appetitfleenteth discrecioun. 
Chaucer, Manciple's Tale, 1. 78. 
If thou wolt haue grace as thou doist gesse 
Lete al falsnes be fleemyd thee fro. 
Political Poemt, etc. (ed. Furnivall), p. 181. 
When he vmafleitied out of paradise. 
Lydgate, Minor Poems, p. 123. 
fleent, " A Middle English plural of flea 1 , and of 
ft!/ 2 - 
fleer 1 (fler),?'. [=E. dial.flire,flyre; earlymod. 
E. fleere, flear, flirre, < ME. flerien, fliren, prob. 
of Scand. origin ; < Norw. flira, titter, giggle, 
laugh at nothing, = Sw. dial, flira, titter, = 
Dan. dial, flirc, laugh, sneer; cf. G. flerren, flar- 
ren, make a wry mouth, howl. Cf. also Norw. 
flina = Sw. flissa, titter.] I. intrans. 1. To 
grin in mockery ; make a wry face in contempt ; 
nence, to gibe; sneer: as, to fleer and flout. 
I ///'', I make an y veil countenance with the niouthe 
by uncoveryng of the tethe. The knave fleareth lyke a 
dogge under a doore. Paltgracr. 
Tush, tush, man, never fleer and Jest at me : 
I speak not like a dotard, nor a fool. 
Shah., Much Ado, v. 1. 
They offer not to fleer, nor jeer, nor break jests. 
B. Jonson, Bartholomew Fair, v. S. 
He will evoke spirits from the vasty deep of imagination, 
only to point and fleer at them when they have obeyed his 
call. Whivple, Ess. and Rev., I. 57. 
2. To grin with an air of civility ; leer. 
Those, 
With their court dog-tricks, that can fawn and fleer. 
B. JonjtoH, Volpone, iii. 1. 
II. traits. To mock ; jeer at. 
I blush to thluk how people fleer' i, and scorn'd me. 
Fletcher, Spanish Curate, iv. 7. 
A vengeance squibber ! 
She'll fleer me out of faith too. 
Fletcher, Wildgoose Chase, ii. 1. 
fleer 1 (fler), n. [< fleer 1 , .] 1. Derision or 
mockery, expressed by words or looks. 
"I'is a Shame to say what he said With his Taunts and 
his Fleers, tossing up his Nose. 
Congreve, Way of the World, iii. 5. 
The toss of quality, and high-bred fleer, 
Now Lady Harriot reached her fifteenth year. 
Soame Jenyns, The Modem Fine Lady (1750), 
[Walpole, Letters, II. 212, note. 
2. A grin of civility ; a leer. 
A sly treacherous fleer upon the face of deceivers. 
South, Sermons. 
fleer 2 (fle'er), . [ME. flenre ; <flee* + -erl.] 
One who flees. 
Than Peterde Boyse had dyuers imaginations other to go 
forwarde, and to retourne agayne the fleer*, and to fight 
with theyr enemies, who chased them, or elles to drawe 
to Courtray. Beniers, tr. of Froissart's Chron., I. ccclxxv. 
Fleers from before the legions of Agricola, marchers in 
1'annonian morasses. /;. /-. Stevenson, The Manse. 
fleer 3 (fler), n. A dialectal (Scotch) variant of 
floor. 
In it cam a grisly ghost, 
Staed stappin' i' the fleer. 
King Henry (Child's Ballads, I. 148). 
fleerer (fler'er), n. One who fleers ; a mocker. 
Pag. Democritus, thou ancient fleerer, 
How I miss thy laugh, and ha' since. 
Bag. There you named the famous jeerer, 
That ever jeer'd in Rome, or Athens. 
Fletcher (and another ?), Nice Valour, v. 1. 
fleering (fler'ing), . [Verbal n. of fleer 1 , r.] 
The act of scoffing or gibing. 
Sir, I have observed all your fleering* ; and resolve your- 
selves ye shall give a strict account for 't. 
Chapman, Bussy d'Ambois, i. 1. 
I dare, my lord. Your hootings and your clamours, 
Your private whispers and your broad fleering*, 
Can no more vex my soul than this base carriage. 
Beau, and Fl., Philaster, ii. 4. 
fleeringly (fler'ing-li), adv. In a fleering or 
mocking manner. 
As he put it [the bottle] down, he saw and recognized us 
with a toss of one hand flrerinfily above his head. 
Ii. L. Stepeniton, Merry Men. 
2264 
fleet 1 (net), r. [< ME. fleeten, fletett, fleoten 
(pret. fleet, i>\.fl<itcn, fliitcn, pp.floten), float (in 
a general sense), float (as a ship) or sail, flow 
or run (as water), fleet or move rapidly, etc., 
< A.i->.fleot<t>i (\iret.fledt, pi. "flutoii, pp. *flotru), 
float (in a general sense), float (as a ship) or sail 
(not ' flow"), = OS. fliotan = OFries. fliata = D. 
vlieten, flow, = MLG. vleteii, LG. fleten, flcid , 
flow, float, = OHG. flioean, MHG. vliezen, G. 
fliessen, flow, run (as water), drop, trickle 
(rarely 'float'), = Ictil.flJ6ta, float, swim, flow, 
nm, be flooded, = Sw.flyta, float, swim, flow, 
run, = Dan. flyde, float, flow, run, be flooded, 
= Goth. *fliutan (not recorded), float; Teut. 
^/ "flat = Lith. pluditi, float. The root appears 
in a shorter form in /Zoic 1 , q. v., and in L. JMW n . 
rain (pluit, it rains), Gr. ir/.fttv, 'trteFttv, float, 
swim, sail, Buss, pluite, float, sail, Skt. -\/ pin, 
float, swim, sail, hover, fly, hasten away. The 
primary meaning ' float ' is now expressed by 
the derived verb float, < AS. flotian, float, < 
fledtan (pp. "floten), float: see float, v. As all 
the words spelled fleet are ult. related, their 
meanings run into each other. Cf.flit 1 , .] I. 
intrans. If. To float. 
Lay theron [f. e., on that lake] a lump of led 
& hit on loft .*''--. 
Alliterative Poeiia (ed. Morris), ii. 1025. 
Him rekketh never wher [whether] she flete or syukc. 
Chaucer, Anelida and Arcite, 1. 182. 
To flete above the water ; his cappe fleteth above the 
water yonder a farre hence. Paltyraoe, 1530. 
2f. To swim. 
The flsches that i the nodes fleoteth. 
St. Marherete (ed. Cockayne), p. 9. 
Selcouthe [rare] kin-Ins 
Of thefletinge flh [Bshesl that in the fom lepen. 
Alexander and Din<iimut(E. E. T. S., extra aer.), 1. 490. 
3f. To sail; navigate. 
ScUpflete* on the flode. Metr. Homilies, p. 135. 
A'aviger, to saile, iofleete. Hollyband's Treasurie. 
Our sever'd navy too 
Have knit again, &nA fleet, threat 1 ning most sealike. 
Shot., A. and t 1 ., iii. 11. 
4f. To flow; run, as water; flow away. 
For i hi wenestow that thise mutacyounsof (ortunefletyn 
withowte governor. Chaucer, Boethius, i. prose 6. 
Ech fletynge thing which U drunken. 
Wyclif, Lev. xL 34 (Purv.). 
The Lime water, which the townsmen [of Lyme Regis] 
call the Buddie, commeth . . . from the liils, fleting upon 
rockie soil, and so falleth into the sea. 
Bolinshed, Chron., I. 58. 
6f. To overflow ; abound. 
The plentyuos Autompne in fulle yeres fletith with hevy 
grapes. Chaucer, Boethius, i. meter 2. 
6. To gutter, as a candle. [Prov. Eng.] 7. 
[Cf. flifl, v. i., 3.] To fly swiftly ; flit, as a 
light substance ; pass away quickly. [Now only 
poetical.] 
What they write 'gainst me 
Shall, like a figure drawn in water, /' '. 
B. Jonson, Poetaster, Apol. 
Bar. I am sorry, neighbour Diego, 
To find you in so weak a state. 
Die. You are welcome ; 
But I am fleeting, sir. 
Fletcher, Spanish Curate, iv. 5. 
'Tis a morning pure and sweet, 
And the light and shadow fleet. 
Tennyson, Maud, xxvi. 6. 
8. [Cf. flit 1 , r. i., 2.] jVat., to change place: 
said of men at work: as, to fleet forward or aft 
in a boat. To fleet aft, to go aft, as the crew of a 
boat, in order to keep her head up to meet a heavy sea. 
II. trail*. If. To fly swiftly over; skim over 
the surface of: as, a ship ihut fleets the gulf. 
2f. To cause to pass swiftly or lightly. 
Many young gentlemen flock to him every day, and fleet 
the time carelessly, as they did in the golden world. 
Shak., As you Like it, i. 1. 
3. Naut., to change the position of : as, to fleet 
a tackle (to change its position after the blocks 
are drawn together so as to use it again); to 
fleet the men aft (to order men to move further 
aft). The word is used only in special phrases like the 
aliove ; it is not applicable to every change of position. 
Thus, if one rope were fastened to a hawser or a shroud, 
one would say ' ' Fleet that rope higher " or " lower, " as the 
case might be ; but one would not say " Fleet that coil of 
rope." To fleet aft (the crew of a whale-boat), to send 
them aft, that by their weight they may keep the head of 
the boat up when a whale is sounding, or in a heavy sea. 
fleet 2 (flet), n. [< ME. fleet, flete, fleot, a fleet 
(used collectively, lit. a ship; cf. -navy, < OF. 
navie, navy, fleet, < LL. naria, a ship), < AS. 
flcdt, with umlaut fliet, flyte, a ship or craft 
(glossing L. ratls, a raft, ML. pontonium, a punt) 
(in this sense flota is more common ; flota also 
means ' a fleet ' and ' a sailor' ; ME. flote, a ship, 
fleet 
a fleet, =D. vlnot = lee\.floti, a fleet: see float), 
< fledtan, float, swim, sail: see fleet 1 , and cf. 
llwf-i. OV.fleteJlettc, a kind of boat, is of Teut. 
origin.] 1. A number of ships or other vessels, 
in company, under the same command, or em- 
ployed in the same service, particularly in war 
or in fishing: as, a fleet of men-of-war, or of war- 
canoes ; the flshiug-^ce< on the Banks ; the fleet 
of a steamship company. 
That vessel . . . 
Which maister was of all the flete. 
Gower, Cool Amant, I. 197. 
Syche a Nauy was ueuer of nowmber togedur, . . . 
Ne so fele feghtyng men in ajflete somyn. 
Destruction of Troy (E. E. T. S.), 1. 4049. 
Roll on, thou deep and dark blue Ocean roll ! 
Ten thousand fleets sweep over thee in vain. 
Byron, Childe Harold, iv. 179. 
2. Specifically, a number of vessels of war or- 
ganized for offense or defense under one com- 
mander, with subordinate commanders of sin- 
gle vessels and sometimes of squadrons ; a na- 
val armament. 
The Dutch are come with a fleete of eighty sail to Har- 
wich. Pepyt, Diary, III. 144. 
3. In fishing, a single line of 100 hooks: so called 
when the bultow was introduced in Newfound- 
land (1846). [U. S. and Canadian.] -Admiral 
Of the fleet. See admiral. Dandelion fleet, a name 
formerly given to the vessels sailing from Gloucester, 
Massachusetts, which did not engage in winter fishing, and 
were said not to start in the spring until the dandelions 
were in bloom. Fleet captain. See captain. Fleet 
surgeon, paymaster, engineer, marine-officer, in the 
United States navy, the senior officer of the respective 
corps belonging to a squadron. These officers are on the 
staff of the commander-in-chief, and exercise a supervi- 
sion over the other officers of their corps in the fleet. 
Mosquito fleet (naut.), an assemblage of small craft. 
fleets (flet), n. [< ME. fleet, < AS. fledt, an arm 
of the sea, an inlet, estuary (the general sense 
of 'a (flowing) stream' does not occur in AS., 
fleot meaning lit. a place where ships float 
or ride at anchor) (= D. vliet, a rill, brook, = 
MLG. rlet, LG. fleet, fleete, a little brook, a ca- 
nal, = OHG. flioz, MHG. vliez, G. fliess, a little 
brook), < fleotan, float (= D. rlieten, G. fliessen, 
etc., fleet, float, flow): see fleet 1 , v. OF. and F. 
dial. (Norm., etc.) flet, a ditch, canal, is of LG. 
origin.] An arm of the sea; an inlet; a river or 
creek: now used only as an element in place- 
names: as, North/Zeet, South/Zeet, .Fteetditch. 
Fleet, the watyr of the see comythe and goythe [var. 
flete, there water cometh and goeth], fleta, fossa, estua- 
rium. Prompt. Pan., p. 166. 
Together wove we net* t' entrap the fish, 
In Hi in c Is and sedgy fleetes. Matthews, Aminta. 
Fleet books, the books containing the original entries of 
marriages solemnized in the Fleet Prison in London dur- 
ing the eighteenth century, until this custom was forbid- 
den by act of Parliament in 1753. Fleet marriages, 
clandestine marriages at one time performed without 
banns or license by needy chaplains in the Fleet Prison, 
London. 
The long list of social reforms passed under the Pelham 
ministry may be fitly closed by the Marriage Act of Lord 
Hardwicke, which put a stop to those Fleet marriages 
which had become one of the strangest scandals of Eng- 
lish life. Lecky, Eng. in 18th Cent., lit 
The Fleet, or Fleet Prison, a famous London prison for- 
merly standing on Faringdon street, long used for debtors: 
so called from its situation near Fleet ditch, now a cov- 
ered sewer. It was almlished in 1844. 
Go, carry Sir John Falstaff to the Fleet; 
Take all his company along with him. 
Shak., 2 Hen. IV., v. 5. 
fleet 4 (flet), a. [ME. not found ; the AS. *fle6tig, 
' swift, fleet,' is an uncertain emendation of a 
doubtful word in a poetical riddle; cf. Icel. 
fljdtr, swift, fleet (of a ship, a horse, etc.) | from 
the verb fleet 1 ."] Swift of motion; moving or 
able to move with rapidity ; rapid. 
The horse 3onng Waters rade upon 
Was fleeter than the wind. 
i'oung Waters (Child's Ballads, III. 89). 
He had in his stables one of the fleetest horses in Eng- 
land. Clarendon, Great Rebellion. 
Thy step the wild deer's rustling feet 
Within thy woods are not more fleet. 
Bryant, Oh, Mother of a Mighty Race. 
fleet 5 (flet), v. t. [< ME. fleten, skim (milk, 
etc.) (= MLG. vloten, LG. af-fldten, af-flaten = 
Dan. af-flode (af= E. off), skim (milk)), < AS. 
flete, fliete, flyte, rarely flet, cream, skimmings, 
curds, = Dan. flode, cream, = MLG. riot, LG. 
flat = G. flott, cream, fat or grease floating on 
the top, lit. that which floats, < AS. fledtan, E. 
fleeft, etc., float: see fleefl.'] If. To skim, as 
cream from milk. 
Fletyn, or skomyn ale, or pottis, or other lycoure that 
hovytlie, despunio, exspumo. Flete mylke only, deqnacco, 
exquacco. Prompt. Pan., p. 167. 
I flete mylke, I take awaye the creame that lyeth above 
it, whan it hath rested. Paltgrace. 
