Etymologically
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helicopter

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 16 October 2026 at 14:06. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈhɛl.iˌkɒp.tə(ɹ)/, /ˈhɛl.ɪˌkɒp.tə(ɹ)/ (UK); /ˈhɛlɪˌkɑptɜɹ/, /ˈhilɪˌkɑptɜɹ/ (US)[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French hélicoptère,[2][3][4] formed from Greek ἕλιξ (hélix, “spiral”) (stem helik-; see helix) and πτερόν (pterón, “wing”),[2][3][5] from PIE Proto-Indo-European *pet- (“to rush, fly”).[3] Pteron is also in pterodactyl.[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

A flying machine lifted by spiral aerofoils: 1861 in the OED and Etymonline;[7][3] 1887 in Barnhart and MWU.[2][5]

Semantic evolution

The idea was to gain lift from spiral aerofoils, and it did not work.[3] Jules Verne used the word in The Clipper of the Clouds (1886),[6] and the first real helicopter did not appear until the 1920s;[6] Etymonline says the word was transferred to helicopters in the modern sense by 1918.[3] The verb, to fly by helicopter, is from 1923 in the OED.[7]

Timeline

  • 1861 – the French word in English.[7]
  • 1886 – in Jules Verne.[6]
  • 1918 – the modern aircraft.[3]
  • 1923 – the verb.[7]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. An aircraft lifted by blades that rotate about a roughly vertical axis, able to hover and fly in any direction.

Verb

  1. To travel or carry by helicopter.

Word family

  • copter
  • heliport
  • helo
  • helix
  • helical
  • pterodactyl
  • feather

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c d e f g 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. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b c d Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  7. ^ a b c d Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press