fledge

fledge
    v 1: feed, care for, and rear young birds for flight
    2: decorate with feathers; "fledge an arrow" [syn: {fledge},
       {flight}]
    3: grow feathers; "The young sparrows are fledging already"
       [syn: {fledge}, {feather}]
    

Fledge \Fledge\, a. [OE. flegge, flygge; akin to D. vlug, G.
   fl["u]gge, fl["u]cke, OHG. flucchi, Icel. fleygr, and to E.
   fly. [root]84. See {Fly}, v. i.]
   Feathered; furnished with feathers or wings; able to fly.
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         His shoulders, fledge with wings.        --Milton.
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Fledge \Fledge\, v. t. & i. [imp. & p. p. {Fledged}; p. pr. &
   vb. n. {Fledging}.]
   1. To furnish with feathers; to supply with the feathers
      necessary for flight.
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            The birds were not as yet fledged enough to shift
            for themselves.                       --L'Estrange.
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   2. To furnish or adorn with any soft covering.
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            Your master, whose chin is not yet fledged. --Shak.
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20 Moby Thesaurus words for "fledge":
      attain majority, bloom, come of age, come to maturity, develop,
      feather, flower, grow, grow up, leave the nest, mature, mellow,
      reach manhood, reach twenty-one, reach voting age, ripen, season,
      settle down, temper, toga virilis