aéroport

Forms

aéroport m (plural aéroports)^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from French aéro- + port¹.^{[2][3][4][5][1]} The first element is the learned prefix of aéroplane and aérodrome, taken from Ancient Greek ἀήρ (aḗr, “air”);^[6] the FEW lists the word under Latin portus (“harbour”).^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in 1922, in the monthly bulletin of the Larousse mensuel illustré, which defines an aéroport ou port aérien as a station from which aeroplanes take off and where they land.^[2][8][3]

Semantic evolution

The compound took the place of the phrase port aérien “air port”, which the first record gives as its equivalent.^[2][9] The word belongs to the vocabulary of early commercial aviation: in Saint-Exupéry's novels of airmail flying (1928, 1931) it names the stations of the air lines and their staff.^[2] It has since come to mean the whole set of runways, terminal buildings and services that serve a city or region, and also the organization that runs them.^[4][10][1] Bloch and Wartburg date it to 1928, later than the 1922 record given by the TLFi and the Robert.^[6][2][3]

From about 1970 it has the adjective aéroportuaire, made on the model of portuaire.^[9]

Timeline

• 1922 – The Larousse mensuel illustré records aéroport, glossed as port aérien.^[2][8]
• 1928 – Saint-Exupéry uses it in Courrier Sud.^[2]
• c. 1970 – The derived adjective aéroportuaire appears.^[9]

Meanings

Noun

1. An airport: the runways, terminal, hangars and services needed for air traffic serving a town or region.^[4][2][5]
2. The body that manages such an installation.^[10][1]

Word family

• aéroportuaire

Related words

• aérodrome
• aérogare
• héliport
• altiport
• port¹

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
3. ^ a b c Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ a b Académie française (1992–2024), Dictionnaire de l'Académie française, 9th ed., Paris: Académie française / Fayard / Imprimerie nationale
6. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
7. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 9, 227b
8. ^ a b Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
9. ^ a b c Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
10. ^ a b Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)