aereo

aereo¹ of the air, aerial

Etymology tree of aereo¹

inherited borrowed derived

Latin aerius

Italian aereo

Pronunciation

• /aˈɛ.re.o/^[1]

Forms

aereo (feminine aerea, masculine plural aerei, feminine plural aeree)^[1] Old Italian forms include aereu, aiereo and aierei;^[2] older and literary Italian also had aerio, used by Aretino, Menzini and Manzoni.^[3][4]

Etymology

The adjective is a learned word, borrowed from Latin āerius (“of the air, airy”), from Ancient Greek ἀέριος (aérios, “high in the air”), a derivative of ἀήρ (aḗr, “air”).^[3][2][5][1] Nocentini, Devoto–Oli and Treccani give the Latin as the variant aĕrĕus, formed on āēr (“air”).^[6][7][8][9] DEI explains the spelling with ⟨e⟩ in some manuscripts as a confusion with the Latin adjective aereus (“of bronze”), from aes (“bronze”).^[10][11]

According to the LEI, the Latin word lived on with popular sound changes only in Old Lombard ayreo, which was also influenced by ayro (“air”).^[3] Italian, Old Occitan aerea (about 1350), Spanish aéreo (1589) and Portuguese aéreo have the learned form.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is in Restoro d'Arezzo, an Aretine author, in 1282, in the sense “made of air; belonging to the air, the sky or the atmosphere”.^[2][12] Nocentini, GRADIT and Sabatini–Coletti date the adjective to the 14th century.^[5][13][6]

Semantic evolution

Old Italian used the word for what is made of air or lives in the air, and by extension for what is light and thin like air.^[2] The LEI dates the sense “formed of air” from Zanobi da Strada (1364), the sense “light, ethereal” from Anguillara (1561) and “rising high in the air; open, airy” from Tasso (1581); Galileo used it for empty, groundless talk before 1642.^[3] Leonardo's prospettiva aerea, the painter's perspective that shows distance through the gradation of colours, is recorded before 1519.^[3] Tasso's dove passes “per l'aeree strade”, along the paths of the air.^[4]

In the 20th century the adjective took on its commonest modern use, for aviation: D'Annunzio has it in 1938 for air navigation, and phrases such as linea aerea, compagnia aerea and posta aerea belong to this sense.^[3][7][14] Botany calls roots and branches that grow above the ground aerei, and anatomy calls the upper respiratory passages vie aeree.^[12][8][14]

Timeline

• 1282 – Restoro d'Arezzo uses aereo for what belongs to the air.^[2]
• 1364 – Zanobi da Strada has it for spirits formed of air.^[3]
• Before 1519 – Leonardo writes of prospettiva aerea.^[3]
• 1561 – Anguillara uses it in the sense “light, ethereal”.^[3]
• 1581 – Tasso uses it for what rises high in the air.^[3]
• Before 1642 – Galileo applies it to groundless talk.^[3]
• 1938 – D'Annunzio uses it for air navigation.^[3]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Of air, made of air: gli spazi aerei sopra la città.^[5][7][12]
2. (figurative) Light and delicate, ethereal: Ballava con passi aerei.^[5][13][8]
3. (figurative) Without foundation, insubstantial: progetti aerei che non si realizzano mai.^[5][7][12]
4. Situated or carried in the air, overhead: Il tram prende la corrente da una linea aerea.^[5][13][8]
5. (literary) Rising high into the air, lofty; open and airy.^[7][13][8]
6. Relating to aviation or done by aircraft: Hanno spedito il pacco per posta aerea.^[5][7][13]
7. (botany) Of a part of a plant: growing above the ground, as aerial roots.^[5][12][8]
8. (anatomy) Of the upper respiratory tract: vie aeree.^[5][13][12]
9. (painting) Of perspective: rendering distance through gradations of colour and light.^[13][8]

Noun

1. (radio) An outdoor aerial or antenna.^[5][12][14]

Word family

• antiaereo
• contraereo
• subaereo

aereo² aeroplane

Pronunciation

• /aˈɛ.re.o/^[1]

Forms

aereo m (plural aerei)^[1]

Etymology

The noun is a shortening of aeroplano, made on the model of the adjective.^[15][6][5] DEI takes it instead as a shortening of aeromobile.^[10][12]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELI's first record is Panzini's dictionary of 1918, with the sense “aeroplane”.^[15][6][5]

Semantic evolution

The short form soon became the ordinary word for any powered aircraft, and aeroplano the more formal one.^[8][14] Compounds name the kinds of aircraft, such as aereo da caccia (fighter), aereo cisterna (tanker aircraft) and aereo spia (spy plane).^[5]

Timeline

• 1918 – Panzini's dictionary records aereo “aeroplane”.^[15]

Meanings

Noun

1. An aeroplane, airplane, or any powered aircraft: Il nostro aereo è partito con due ore di ritardo.^{[5][13][8][1]}