飞 (fēi) — to fly

Basic verb 'to fly' (birds, planes). 飞行 is the more formal verb for aircraft/spacecraft. 飘扬 is for flags/cloth waving in the wind, not flying.

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 飛; 飞 is its simplified writing.

For 飞, the traditional form 飛 pictures a bird flying upwards.