aviation

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˌeɪ̯.viːˈeɪ̯.ʃən/, /ˌav.iː-/ (UK); /ˌeɪ̯.viˈeɪ̯.ʃən/, /ˌæv.i-/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French aviation, formed irregularly from Latin avis (“bird”) and -ation,^[2][3][4][5] from PIE Proto-Indo-European *awi- (“bird”).^[3] It was coined in 1863 by the French aviation pioneer Gabriel de La Landelle in “Aviation ou Navigation aérienne”.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The art or act of flying: 1866 in the OED, Barnhart and Etymonline;^[6][2][3] MWU dates it to 1865.^[7]

Semantic evolution

Word Origins groups it with aviary and avian, all from Latin avis.^[8] It came to mean the operation of aircraft, the design and production of aircraft, and the aircraft industry.^[9][10] Aviator is from 1887, in a translation of Jules Verne.^[2]

Timeline

• 1863 – French aviation coined.^[3][2]
• 1865 – first use (MWU).^[7]
• 1866 – in English.^[6][2]
• 1887 – aviator.^[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. The flying or operation of aircraft.
2. The design, development and production of aircraft.
3. The aircraft industry; military aircraft.

Word family

• avgas
• avionics
• general aviation

Related words

• aviator
• aviary
• avian
• auspice

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
8. ^ Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
10. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin