vliegende

Vliegende is the Dutch present participle and adjectival form of the verb vliegen (to fly). It means flying or in flight and is used to describe something that can or does fly. In everyday language it functions as an adjective, often appearing before a noun to indicate movement through the air, such as in vliegende vogel (flying bird) or vliegende auto (flying car, in speculative or futurist contexts).

Grammar and usage

In attributive position before a noun, the form is typically vliegende, with an -e ending: de vliegende bijen, de vliegende auto. In predicative position, after a linking verb such as zijn (to be), the form is vliegend: De vogel is vliegend. The distinction mirrors Dutch adjective agreement: attributive adjectives before a noun commonly take -e, while predicative adjectives do not.

Contexts and examples

Vliegende is widely used for natural subjects (vliegende vogels, vliegende insecten) and for technological or fictional concepts (vliegende auto’s, vliegende drones). It also appears in cultural or historical phrases, notably as part of the name Vliegende Hollander, the Flying Dutchman, a legendary ghost ship and a well-known translation of the English term.

Etymology and related forms

The word is formed from vliegen with the participial suffix -ende. A related form is vliegend, the predicative present participle used after a verb. Across Germanic languages, similar participles exist (German fliegende, English flying), reflecting a common linguistic heritage.

In summary, vliegende is the Dutch word for “flying” as an attributive adjective, with vliegend used in predicative contexts, and it also appears in important cultural references such as the Flying Dutchman.