fleet

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“
The season of high water had been looked forward to as insuring constant communication along the whole length of the Red River as far as the fleet should be able to ascend.

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Definitions (59)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (10)

  1. noun A number of warships operating together under one command.
  2. noun A group of vessels or vehicles, such as taxicabs or fishing boats, owned or operated as a unit.
  3. adjective Moving swiftly; rapid or nimble. See Synonyms at fast1.
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Roget's II Roget's II: The New Thesaurus

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Used in the same context Used in the Same Context

squadron ·  army ·  vessel ·  navy ·  expedition ·  commander ·  cavalry ·  crow ·  cruiser ·  craft ·  regiment ·  port

Used in the same contextWord Family

fleet:   fleets
Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Etymologies (9)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (2)

  1. Middle English flete, from Old English flēot, from flēotan, to float; see pleu- in Indo-European roots.
  2. Probably from Old Norse fljōtr. V., from Middle English fleten, to drift, float, from Old English flēotan; see pleu- in Indo-European roots.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (7)

  1. from Middle English fleeten, fleten, fleoten (preterit fleet, plural floten, fluten, past participle floten), float (in a general sense), float (as a ship) or sail, flow or run (as water), fleet or move rapidly, etc., from Anglo-Saxon fleótan (preterit fleát, plural *fluton, past participle *floten), float (in a general sense), float (as a ship) or sail (not ‘flow’), = Old Saxon fliotan = OFries. fliata = Dutch vlieten, flow, = Middle Low German vlēten, Low German fleten, fleiten, flow, float, = Old High German fliozan, Middle High German vliezen, German fliessen, flow, run (as water), drop, trickle (rarely ‘float’), = Icelandic fljōta, float, swim, flow, run, be flooded, = Swedish flyta, float, swim, flow, run, = Danish flyde, float, flow, run, be flooded, = Gothic (Moesogothic) *fliutan (not recorded), float; Teutonic √ *flut = Lithuanian pluditi, float. The root appears in a shorter form in flow, q. v., and in L. pluere, rain (pluit, it rains), Greek πλέειν, *πλέΝειν, float, swim, sail, Russian pluite, float, sail, Sanskrit √ plu, float, swim, sail, hover, fly, hasten away. The primary meaning ‘float’ is now expressed by the derived verb float, from Anglo-Saxon flotian, float, from fleótan (past participle *floten), float: see float, v. As all the words spelled fleet are ult. related, their meanings run into each other. Cf. flit, v.
  2. from Middle English fleet, flete, fleot, a fleet (used collectively, literally a ship; cf. navy, from Old French navie, navy, fleet, from Late Latin navia, a ship), from Anglo-Saxon fleót, with umlaut fliét, fly¯te, a ship or craft (glossing L. ratis, a raft, Middle Latin pontonium, a punt) (in this sense flota is more common; flota also means ‘a fleet’ and ‘a sailor’; Middle English flote, a ship, a fleet, = Dutch vloot = Icelandic floti, a fleet: see float), from fleótan, float, swim, sail: see fleet, and cf. fleet. Old French flete, flette, a kind of boat, is of Teutonic origin.
  3. from Middle English fleet, from Anglo-Saxon fleót, an arm of the sea, an inlet, estuary (the general sense of ‘a (flowing) stream’ does not occur in Anglo-Saxon, fleót meaning literally a place where ships float or ride at anchor) (= Dutch vliet, a rill, brook, = Middle Low German vlēt, Low German fleet, fleete, a little brook, a canal, = Old High German flioz, Middle High German vliez, German fliess, a little brook), from fleótan, float (= Dutch vlieten, German fliessen, etc., fleet, float, flow): see fleet, v. Old French and French dial. (Norman, etc.) flet, a ditch, canal, is of Low German origin.
  4. Middle English not found; the Anglo-Saxon*fleótig, ‘swift, fleet,’ is an uncertain emendation of a doubtful word in a poetical riddle; cf. Icelandic fljōtr, swift, fleet (of a ship, a horse, etc.); from the verb fleet.
  5. from Middle English fleten, skim (milk, etc.) (= Middle Low German vloten, Low German af-flöten, af-flaten = Danish af-flöde (af = English off), skim (milk)), from Anglo-Saxon flēte, fliéte, fly¯te, rarely flēt, cream, skimmings, curds, = Danish flöde, cream, = Middle Low German vlōt, Low German flot = German flott, cream, fat or grease floating on the top, literally that which floats, from Anglo-Saxon fleótan, English fleet, etc., float: see fleet.
  6. apparently a particular use of fleet, a., moving lightly.
  7. from fleet, a.
 

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/flit/
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