airport

Pronunciation

• IPA: UK /ˈeə.pɔːt/, US /ˈer.pɔːrt/^[1]

Etymology

It is a compound of air, in the sense “aircraft”, and port, “harbour”.^[2][3] It was also written separately, air port.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Alberto Santos-Dumont used it once, of airships, in 1902;^[2] Merriam-Webster dates the word to 1902.^[3] The OED's first example is from 1919,^[4] the year from which it was used regularly.^[2]

Semantic evolution

Its first regular reference was to Bader Field, outside Atlantic City, New Jersey, which had opened in 1910.^[2] The OED defines it as an aerodrome, especially one with a customs house.^[4] An older word for such a place was aerodrome.^[2]

Timeline

• 1902 – used once of airships.^[2][3]
• 1910 – Bader Field opens.^[2]
• 1919 – in regular use.^[2][4]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. An area of level land where aircraft take off and land, with runways, hangars, a control tower and buildings for passengers and cargo.
2. Such a place with a customs station, serving international flights.

Word family

• heliport
• jetport

Related words

• air
• port
• aerodrome
• seaport

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ a b c Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press