airway

C2+ Topic:The Human Body

US /ˈɛrˌweɪ/ UK /ˈeəweɪ/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
a passage for air, especially the breathing passages of the body

The paramedic cleared the patient's airway at once.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a passage for air,... passage windpipe trachea duct route

Word family

Related forms air wayairways

Etymology

A compound of air + way ('path, route'), from Old English weg; first used of ventilation passages and later of breathing passages and flight routes.

āēr Latin weg Old English

View etymology graph ->

Topics

The Human Body Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# airway

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈɛrˌweɪ/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈeəweɪ/

## Meanings
1. a passage for air, especially the breathing passages of the body

## Examples
- The paramedic cleared the patient's airway at once.

## Synonyms
- passage
- windpipe
- trachea
- duct
- route

## Related Forms
- air
- way
- airways

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: āēr
- Root: weg

## Etymology
A compound of air + way ('path, route'), from Old English weg; first used of ventilation passages and later of breathing passages and flight routes.

## AI Etymology
Airway is a noun meaning "a passage for air, especially the breathing passages of the body". Historically, it is a compound of air + way ('path, route'), from Old English weg; first used of ventilation passages and later of breathing passages and flight routes. The visible construction is part of the etymology: airway is not just an unanalyzed simple word. The semantic history matters here: the earlier use is the starting point, and the modern sense, "a passage for air, especially the breathing passages of the body", is the later or specialized English value. The historical chain links Latin āēr with Old English weg. Close English family members include air, way, and airways.

## Topics
- The Human Body
- Word Formation & Derivatives

markdown