Fledges

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Grows feathers enough to fly for the first time ; gains independence or self-sufficiency in personal or life skills
2. Develops flight feathers and begins flying ; starts to take care of oneself without assistance
3. Completes feather growth to leave the nest and fly ; becomes capable of living or functioning on one's own

Etymology: "Fledges" is the third-person singular form of "fledge," meaning a young bird grows the feathers it needs to leave the nest. The verb comes from a Middle English adjective, "flegge" or "fligge," which described a bird fully feathered and able to fly. That adjective traces back to Old English ""flyċġe," meaning "able to fly," itself passed down from a Proto-Germanic root ""flugjaz" with the same sense. The root goes back further to a Proto-Indo-European base meaning "to run, flow, be swift, flee, fly," so the word's deepest core is about speed and movement rather than feathers. Its relatives survive across the Germanic languages: Dutch "vlug" means swift or nimble, German "flügge" means fledged, and Icelandic "fleygur" means able to fly. In English the adjective later became a verb, and the sense extended from a bird's wings to a young person becoming independent.

Synonyms: mature, develops

Antonyms: fails, declines