English
fleet
Fleet comes from Old English flēot ‘ship’, from flēotan ‘to float’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *plewd- ‘to flow, run’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*plewd-‘to flow, run’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*fleutaną‘to float, stream’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150flēotan‘to float’
- Old English, derivedc. 450–1150flēot‘ship’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500flete
- Englishearliest quotation 1665fleet
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*plewd-‘to flow, run’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*fleutaną‘to float, stream’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150flēotan‘to float’
- Old English, derivedc. 450–1150flēot‘ship’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500flete
- Englishearliest quotation 1665fleet
Earliest quotation: 1665, October 1st, 1665: “He did discourse to us of the Dutch fleete…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *plewd- ‘to flow, run’
through Proto-Germanic *fleutaną ‘to float, stream’
Another origin of fleet
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*plewd-‘to flow, run’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*fleutą‘river, stream’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*fleutreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150flēot‘a bay, gulf, an arm of the sea, estuary, the mouth of a river’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500flete‘bay, gulf’
- Englishtodayfleet
Another origin of fleet
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*plewd-‘to flow, run’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*fleutaną‘to float, stream’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*fleutan‘to float’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150flēotan‘float’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500fleten‘float’
- Englishtodayfleet
Today it means
noun A group of vessels or vehicles, generally operating in a unified way or traveling together.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *plewd- / fleet