Etymologically
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airport

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 15 October 2026 at 18:53. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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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

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