helicopter

B1 Topic:Aviation & Flight

US /ˈheliˌkɔptə(ɹ)/ UK /ˈhɛl.iˌkɒp.tə(ɹ)/ See IPA manual

Freq #3491

Meanings

1

noun
An aircraft with spinning blades on top that let it fly straight up, hover, and land without a runway.

We flew over the city in a helicopter.
2

verb
To carry someone or something by helicopter.

The injured climbers were helicoptered to the nearest hospital.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · an aircraft with spinning... chopper copterwhirlybird

Word family

Forms helicopters

Derived forms antihelicoptercopterheliheli-helichopperhelicopterfulhelicopteringhelicopterlikehelicopteryheliporthelitackhelo

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

cargo helicopter
a helicopter designed or used to transport goods

Noun + noun

Simplified etymology

Helicopter was borrowed in the late 19th century from French, before practical helicopters appeared. The French word was formed from Greek helix, "spiral," and pteron, "wing."

Etymology

Borrowed from French hélicoptère, from Ancient Greek ἕλιξ (hélix, “spiral”) + πτερόν (pterón, “wing”). Doublet of helicopteron. By surface analysis, helico- + -pter. The dragonfly sense is from a dragonfly's ability to hover and fly in any direction, like the flying machine.

*welH- Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Aviation & Flight Transportation

External links

# helicopter

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** noun, verb
**IPA (US):** /ˈheliˌkɔptə(ɹ)/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈhɛl.iˌkɒp.tə(ɹ)/
**Frequency rank:** 3491

## Meanings
1. An aircraft with spinning blades on top that let it fly straight up, hover, and land without a runway.
2. To carry someone or something by helicopter.

## Examples
- We flew over the city in a helicopter.
- The injured climbers were helicoptered to the nearest hospital.

## Derived Forms
- antihelicopter
- copter
- heli
- heli-
- helichopper
- helicopterful
- helicoptering
- helicopterlike
- helicoptery
- heliport
- helitack
- helo

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *welH-

## Etymology
Borrowed from French hélicoptère, from Ancient Greek ἕλιξ (hélix, “spiral”) + πτερόν (pterón, “wing”). Doublet of helicopteron. By surface analysis, helico- + -pter. The dragonfly sense is from a dragonfly's ability to hover and fly in any direction, like the flying machine.

## AI Etymology
Helicopter is borrowed from French hélicoptère, from Ancient Greek ἕλιξ (hélix, “spiral”) + πτερόν (pterón, “wing”). Doublet of helicopteron. By surface analysis, helico- + -pter. The dragonfly sense is from a dragonfly's ability to hover and fly in any direction, like the flying machine. The analysis is mainly morphological: the modern nominal form is built from the named base and affix. The historical line also includes *welH- (Proto-Indo-European). In current use, the main senses are “An aircraft with spinning blades on top that let it fly straight up, hover, and land without a runway” and “To carry someone or something by helicopter”.

## Topics
- Aviation & Flight
- Transportation

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