Etymologically
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launcher

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 31 October 2026 at 22:55. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • UK: /ˈlɔːntʃ.ə/[1]
  • US: /ˈlɑnt͡ʃ.ɚ/, /ˈlɔnt͡ʃ.ɚ/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English launch + -er.[2][3][4][5] Launch comes from Old French lancher, the Old Northern French form of lancier (“to fling, hurl”),[2][3] from Late Latin lanceō (“to wield a lance”), from Latin lancea (“light spear”), the source of lance.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

A person who launches something: 1824, in Hawker's Instructions to Young Sportsmen.[2][3] Dictionary.com dates the word to 1815–25.[5]

Semantic evolution

A launcher was at first a person who launches, in any sense of the verb.[2][3] The sense "device for launching" is recorded from 1911, at first of aeroplanes;[2][3][6] Merriam-Webster takes 1911 as the word's first date.[6] It was applied to rockets by 1944,[3] and later to a structure holding a rocket or missile while it is fired and to a rocket that carries a satellite or spacecraft into orbit.[2][4][7]

Timeline

  • 1824 – a person who launches something.[2][3]
  • 1911 – a device for launching, at first aeroplanes.[2][3][6]
  • 1944 – used of rockets.[3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A structure or device that holds and fires a rocket or missile: a mobile missile launcher.[7][6][8]
  2. An attachment to a rifle, or a separate weapon, for firing grenades.[6][8][7]
  3. A rocket that carries a satellite or spacecraft into orbit; a launch vehicle.[7][6]
  4. A catapult for launching aircraft.[8][6]
  5. A person who launches something.[2][6]

Word family

  • grenade launcher
  • rocket launcher

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  7. ^ a b c d Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  8. ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt