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US /ˌeɪviˈeɪʃən/ UK /ˌeɪviˈeɪʃən/
Freq #15910

Meanings

  1. 1
  2. 2

Thesaurus

Synonyms
1 noun · the activity, science, or... flyingaeronautics
2 noun · the industry or system of... air transportair travel
Word family
Derived forms aviateaviator
Related forms aircraftflightavionics

Appears in

Simplified etymology

Aviation was borrowed in the 19th century from French and ultimately derives from Latin avis, “bird.” It belongs to the same family as aviator, aviary, and avian.

Etymology

Borrowed from French aviation, coined in the nineteenth century from Latin avis ('bird') with the action suffix -ation. It first named human flight and soon expanded to the technology and industry of aircraft.

Topics

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