fledgling

English

Alternative forms

• fledgeling

Etymology

From fledge (“prepare for flying”) +‎ -ling.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈflɛd͡ʒ.lɪŋ/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Adjective

fledgling (not comparable)

1. Untried or inexperienced.

   Synonyms: unfledged, virginal

   • 2011, Jay A. Gertzman, Bookleggers and Smuthounds: The Trade in Erotica, 1920-1940:

     His trenchant criticisms of the Church's repression […] include a discussion of the considerable 1938 success of the fledgling NODL in getting magazines removed from various points of sale.

2. Emergent or rising.

   Synonyms: nascent, emerging

   • 1997 August 5, “Film failed to do justice to drama surrounding death of Harry Boland”, in The Irish Times‎^[1]:

     Harry Boland was born in Dublin in 1884 and educated with his younger brother Gerry in Clontarf. His father James, who greatly influenced him was politically active in the Irish Republican Brotherhood and the fledgling GAA. Harry Boland fought at the GPO in April 1916 and was interned in Dartmoor and Lewes jail.

   • 2021 January 22, Joe Brennan, “Has Eddie O’Connor underestimated the value of his €1bn baby?”, in The Irish Times‎^[2]:

     Less than 24 hours later, Aker’s fledgling green energy and technology unit, Aker Horizons, revealed it had landed a bigger catch, with its planned purchase of Roscommon native Eddie O’Connor’s Mainstream Renewable Power for up to €1 billion.

Translations

inexperienced

• Bulgarian: please add this translation if you can
• Czech: nezkušený (cs)
• Danish: please add this translation if you can
• Dutch: onervaren (nl)
• Esperanto: sensperta, nesperta
• Estonian: please add this translation if you can
• Finnish: kokematon (fi), aloitteleva (fi), orastava (fi)
• French: inexpérimenté (fr)
• German: unerfahren (de), unerprobt, ungeprüft, unerfahren (de)
• Greek: πρωτόπειρος (el) m (protópeiros), άπειρος (el) m (ápeiros), αρχάριος (el) m (archários)
• Italian: inesperto (it), alle prime armi
• Khmer: ដោយគ្មានបទពិសោធន៏ (daoy kmien bɑt pi’saot)
• Portuguese: inexperiente (pt), novato (pt)
• Russian: нео́пытный (ru) (neópytnyj), неискушённый (ru) (neiskušónnyj), зелёный (ru) (zeljónyj)
• Spanish: inexperto (es), bisoño (es), principiante (es)
• Swedish: oerfaren (sv), flygfärdig (sv)

emergent or rising

• Dutch: opkomend (nl), rijzend (nl),
• Esperanto: freŝbakita
• Finnish: aloitteleva (fi) aufkommend (de), aufkeimend (de), sich entwickelnd, hervortretend (de), jung (de), frischgebacken (de), Jung-, Nachwuchs-, in den Kinderschuhen
• Polish: świeżo upieczony (pl)

Noun

fledgling (plural fledglings)

1. A young bird which has just developed its flight feathers (notably wings).
2. An insect that has just fledged, i.e. undergone its final moult to become an adult or imago.
3. (figuratively) An immature, naïve or inexperienced person.

Translations

young bird

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Czech: ptáče (cs) n, ptáčátko n
• Danish: please add this translation if you can
• Dutch: kuiken (nl) n
• Esperanto: please add this translation if you can
• Estonian: linnupoeg
• Finnish: lentopoikanen
• French: oisillon (fr) m, oiselet (fr) m
• German: Küken (de) n; (Austria also) Kücken (de) n flügges Küken n, (Austria also) flügges Kücken n, Küken (de) n, flügger Vogel m, eben flügge gewordener Vogel m, Jungvogel (de) m
• Greek: νεοσσός (el) m (neossós)
• Hebrew: אֶפְרוֹחַ (he) m (efróaḥ)
• Hungarian: please add this translation if you can
• Irish: gearrcach m
• Italian: uccellino (it)
• Japanese: please add this translation if you can
• Kazakh: түлек (tülek)
• Khmer: កូនបក្សី (koon baksəy)
• Latvian: please add this translation if you can
• Maori: pīrere, hauturuki, turuki
• Polish: podlot m
• Portuguese: filhote/filho/pássaro/etc. recém-emplumado
• Punjabi: ਬੋਟ m (boṭ)
• Romanian: păsărea (ro) f, păsărică f
• Russian: опери́вшийся птене́ц m (operívšijsja ptenéc), птене́ц (ru) m (ptenéc)
• Slovak: vtáča n
• Spanish: pollito (es) m, polluelo m, volandero (es) m, volantón m
• Swedish: fågelunge (sv)
• Tagalog: inakay, sisiw
• Thai: please add this translation if you can
• Volapük: (♂♀) bödül (vo), (♂) hibödül, (♀) jibödül

inexperienced person

• Albanian: axhami (sq), fillestar (sq)
• Danish: please add this translation if you can
• Dutch: nieuweling (nl) m, (familiar) melkmuil (nl) m, aankomeling (nl) m, groentje (nl) n
• Esperanto: novico, novulo, senspertulo
• Faroese: please add this translation if you can
• Finnish: untuvikko (fi)
• French: novice (fr) m or f, (familiar) bleu (fr)
• German: Grünschnabel (de) m, Neuling (de) m, Laie (de) m
• Greek: αρχάριος (el) m (archários)
• Italian: novellino (it), principiante (it), pivello (it)
• Khmer: មនុស្សគ្មានសមត្ថភាព (mɔnuh kmien sa’mattʰa’ pʰiep)
• Polish: nowicjusz (pl) m, żółtodziub m (familiar)
• Portuguese: novato (pt) m, iniciante (pt) m or f
• Romanian: novice (ro) m or f, ageamiu (ro) m
• Russian: новичо́к (ru) m (novičók), нео́пытный юне́ц m (neópytnyj junéc), зелёный (ru) m (zeljónyj) (disparaging, lit.: "green")
• Spanish: amateur (es) m or f, novato (es) m, principiante (es) m or f, pipiolo (es)
• Swedish: nybörjare (sv) c

See also

• hatchling
• nestling

References

• “fledgeling”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.