airline English · revision 10411

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=compound|attested=1813}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈɛəˌlaɪn/ ''(UK)''; /ˈɛɹˌlaɪn/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is a compound of [[air]] and [[line]],^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002)^(RHWU) also written air-line.^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A beeline, a straight line between two points on the earth's surface, as through the air rather than over the terrain: 1813, chiefly North American.^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ From 1853 and later in the 19th century it was used especially of American railways that ran directly between big cities instead of meandering from town to town.^(Etymonline) A regular service of aircraft between places, and a company providing it, is from 1914 in Etymonline;^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002) Merriam-Webster's Collegiate dates the word to 1901 and the RHWU to 1910–15.^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) A hose carrying air under pressure is another sense.^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1813 – a beeline.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1853 – a direct railway.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1914 – an air transport company.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A company or system providing scheduled flights for passengers or freight.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A hose or tube carrying compressed air.^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(chiefly US, archaic)'' A [[beeline]].^(Collins 2023)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[air]]

+ * [[line]]

+ * [[airplane]]

+ * [[airport]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}