parachute

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈpæɹəʃuːt/ (UK); /ˈpæɹəʃut/, /ˈpɛɹəʃut/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French parachute (“that which protects against a fall”),^{[2][3][4][5][6]} a hybrid coined by the French aeronaut François Blanchard,^[4] from para- “protection against”, as in parasol,^[2][3][4][5] and French chute (“a fall”).^{[2][3][4][5][6]}

Earliest recorded meaning

A device for descending safely from a great height, especially from a balloon (1785 in the OED, Barnhart and Merriam-Webster; 1784, the year of the first attempted use in Paris, in Etymonline).^[7][3][5][4]

Semantic evolution

The word was extended to any contrivance that checks a fall through the air, such as the downy seed of a dandelion (1796),^[7] and to devices in mining and watchmaking that prevent damaging shocks (1881–84).^[7][6] The verb, “to descend or convey by parachute”, dates from 1807,^[7][3][4] and was marked rare in 1895 but became common in the 20th century.^[4] In modern use it also means to appoint an outsider to a position over the heads of existing staff (1954).^[7][1]

Timeline

• 1784 – the first attempted use, in Paris.^[4]
• 1785 – the device.^[7][3][5]
• 1796 – any natural or artificial device that checks a fall.^[7]
• 1807 – verb, to descend by parachute.^[7][3][4]
• 1888 – parachutist.^[3]
• 1954 – verb, to appoint an outsider.^[7]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A device of light fabric that opens like an umbrella to slow the fall of a person or object dropped from an aircraft.
2. Any of various similar devices for slowing motion, such as a brake parachute.
3. (zoology) A patagium, the skin flap of gliding animals.

Verb

1. To descend by parachute.
2. To drop (supplies or troops) by parachute.
3. To place (someone) in a position from outside the existing hierarchy.

Word family

• parachutist
• chute
• golden parachute

Related words

• parasol
• parapet

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b c Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press