spacecraft English · revision 39857

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=compound|attested=1928}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * US: /ˈspeɪsˌkɹæft/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is a compound [[af|en|space|craft]],^(Etymonline)^(OED 2026)^(Dictionary.com 2016) formed after the model of [[aircraft]].^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A vehicle designed to travel in outer space: Etymonline dates the word to 1928,^(Etymonline) the OED's first quotation is from the ''New York Times'' of 13 October 1929,^(OED 2026) and Merriam-Webster's first known use is 1930.^(MWU 2024) Dictionary.com gives the much later 1955–60.^(Dictionary.com 2016)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The word was coined decades before any vehicle left the atmosphere, and its meaning has stayed the same; it now covers both crewed vehicles and unmanned probes, and like ''aircraft'' it has the same form in the plural.^(OED 2026)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1928 – a vehicle for travel in space.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1929 – first OED quotation (''New York Times'').^(OED 2026)

+ * 1930 – Merriam-Webster's first known use.^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A vehicle, crewed or unmanned, designed to travel in outer [[space]], to orbit the earth or to reach other celestial bodies; a [[spaceship]]: ''The probe was the first spacecraft to land on a comet.''^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[spaceship]]

+ * [[aircraft]]

+ * [[craft]]

+ * [[space]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}