How often we've heard, and used, the phrase 'time flies' without giving it much thought. The phrase paints a picture of time flying away from us almost whimsically, like a butterfly, naturally and unburdened. The term actually derives from the Latin,
tempis fugit, and originally appeared in Virgil's Georgics - as
fugit inreparabile tempus or "it escapes, irretrievable time."
Fugit forms the root of our word
fugitive, painting a different picture of the flight of time than our butterfly, irretrievably escaping like a thief.