fledge
verb
no object
(of a
young
bird
)
develop
wing
feather
s that are large enough for
flight
:
ひな鳥が育つ
e.g.
the young fledge around four weeks after hatching.
with object
bring up
(a
young
bird
) until its
wing
feather
s are
developed
enough for
flight
:
ひな鳥を育てる
e.g.
they fledged twenty-four chicks in fourteen months.
ORIGIN
mid
16th century
: from the obsolete adjective
fledge
‘
ready
to
fly
’, from
Old English
, of
Germanic
origin; related to
Dutch
vlug
‘
quick
,
agile
’, also to
fly
1.