Origin and history of flying

[pass or rise swiftly through air; move through the air with wings] Middle English flien, from Old English fleogan, fliogan "move through the air by the aid of wings; rise into or move over the air by the force of wind or other impulse," which is reconstructed to be from Proto-Germanic *fleugan "to fly," reconstructed in Watkins to be from PIE *pleuk-, extended form of root *pleu- "to flow."

Not cognate with flee (v.), but inextricably confused with it since Old English times due to their similarity, which once was greater than now.

OE flēogan 'fly' and flēon 'flee' differed only in the stem of the present. In some dialects of ME the two verbs seem to have coalesced completely. [Middle English Compendium]

For the senses of "depart suddenly or swiftly, take flight" (c. 1200); "flee from, shun" (trans.), etc., see fly (v.2).

The sense of "go at full speed, move or pass with swiftness or alacrity" is attested from c. 1200. In reference to time from 1590s.

Of persons or animals, "spring, rush, move with a start," by 1580s.

It is attested by c. 1300 in the sense of "part suddenly or with violence, burst into fragments" (as in fly to pieces, itself from late 15c.), probably from the notion of the fragments scattering through the air.

In reference to flags, ship's colors, etc., "float loosely, flutter as in the wind," by 1650s (thus some of the senses under fly (n.2)).

The transitive sense "cause to rise and move or float in air" is by 1739 (fly a kite); that of "convey through the air" ("Fly Me to the Moon") is by 1864.

Specifically in reference to travel by mechanical aircraft by 1884. In reference to any sort of aircraft, "make a flight," by 1848.

To fly at "attack, spring or rush at with hostile intentions" (1580s, earlier fly upon, 1540s) is perhaps from hawking. To let fly, let fly at (someone) "make an attack or assault; shoot (an arrow), hurl (a stone)" is attested by c.1200.

Figurative fly too high "be too ambitious" is by early 15c.

Germanic cognates include Old Saxon fliogan, Old Frisian fliaga, Middle Dutch vlieghen, Dutch vliegen, Old High German fliogan, German fliegen, Old Norse flügja. 

Also see flying.

Old English fleogan was a class II strong verb; past tense fleag, past participle flogen, the modern flew and flown. Flied is used in specialized senses, as in baseball ("hit a fly ball") or "to ride the flys" an old type of light hackney carriage (1836).

late 14c., "member of the German race, person of German birth or ancestry," from Dutch (adj.) + man (n.). From 1590s in narrowed sense of "inhabitant of Holland or the Netherlands," though "Century Dictionary" as late as 1897 reports it "in the U.S. often locally applied to Germans, and sometimes to Scandinavians" (other 19c. sources also include Baltics).

From 1650s in nautical use as "Dutch ship." References to the ghost ship called the Flying Dutchman seem to begin late 18c. (see flying).