Emily Dickinson Lexicon

FLEET, a. [Ice. fliotr; Ir. luath, swift; Russ. letayu, to fly; Eng. to flit. If the last consonant is radical, this word seems to be allied to D. vlieden, to flee, to fly, and possibly the Shemitic פלט; but from the Ethiopic it would appear that the latter word is our split, the sense being to divide or separate.]

1. Swift of pace; moving or able to move with rapidity; nimble; light and quick in motion, or moving with lightness and celerity; as, a fleet horse or dog.
2. Moving with velocity; as, fleet winds.
3. Light; superficially fruitful; or thin; not penetrating deep; as soil. Mortimer.
4. Skimming the surface. Mortimer.