dirigible

C2+ Topic:Transportation

US /ˈdɪrɪdʒəbəl/ UK /ˈdɪrɪdʒəbəl/ See IPA manual

noun adj

Meanings

1

noun
a steerable lighter-than-air aircraft; an airship

The vast dirigible drifted silently over the harbor.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a steerable... airshipblimpzeppelinaerostat

Word family

Related forms directdirigentdirge

Etymology

From French dirigeable ('steerable'), from diriger ('to steer, direct'), from Latin dirigere ('to set straight, guide'), from regere ('to rule straight'); the noun sense 'steerable airship' arose because, unlike a balloon, it could be directed.

dirigere Latin regere Latin *h₃reǵ- Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Transportation Word Formation & Derivatives

# dirigible

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun, adj
**IPA (US):** ˈdɪrɪdʒəbəl
**IPA (UK):** ˈdɪrɪdʒəbəl

## Meanings
1. a steerable lighter-than-air aircraft; an airship

## Examples
- The vast dirigible drifted silently over the harbor.

## Synonyms
- airship
- blimp
- zeppelin
- aerostat

## Related Forms
- direct
- dirigent
- dirge

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: dirigere
- Root: regere
- Root: *h₃reǵ-

## Etymology
From French dirigeable ('steerable'), from diriger ('to steer, direct'), from Latin dirigere ('to set straight, guide'), from regere ('to rule straight'); the noun sense 'steerable airship' arose because, unlike a balloon, it could be directed.

## AI Etymology
Dirigible is from French dirigeable ('steerable'), from diriger ('to steer, direct'), from Latin dirigere ('to set straight, guide'), from regere ('to rule straight'); the noun sense 'steerable airship' arose because, unlike a balloon, it could be directed. The ancestry passes through Latin dirigere, Latin regere, and Proto-Indo-European *h₃reǵ-. In present use as noun and adjective, it means "a steerable lighter-than-air aircraft; an airship", keeping the historical formation close to the word's ordinary semantic work. Related words include direct, dirigent, and dirge.

## Topics
- Transportation
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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dirigible

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