Geoffrey Dabb wrote:
I don’t
think Philip’s comment
has quite got to the heart of the confusion. There are two separate
meanings attributed to the verb ‘fledge’ : (a) traditional: to acquire flight
feathers (b) recent ‘scientific’: to
fly from the nest. So far as I am aware, the noun ‘fledgling’
is used only in relation to sense (a) ie applying to a bird that has
acquired
flight feathers but not yet left the nest. The best word for a bird
that
has left the nest is perhaps ‘juvenile’. Were it otherwise
there would be no end point to ‘fledgling’, which would become
hopelessly confusing.
Personally, I prefer C.S. Lewis's interpretation of 'fledge', which he
defines as the point at which the horse grows its wings...
John Brannan (sorry)
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