Etymology

airfoil

A1I1R1F4O1I1L1

Today it means: A structure shaped to produce lift when moving in air. Full definition →

English foil ← Middle English aire ← Old French air
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*h₂ews-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*h₂ewsér
  3. Proto-Hellenic*auhḗr
  4. Ancient Greekᾱ̓ήρ (āḗr)
  5. Latināēr
  6. Old Frenchair
  7. Middle Englishaire
  8. Englishair
  9. Englishfoil
  10. English todayairfoil

From air + foil.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.