aeronaut
Americannoun
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the pilot of a balloon or other lighter-than-air aircraft.
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a traveler in an airship.
noun
Etymology
Origin of aeronaut
1775–85; < French aéronaute < Greek āero- aero- + naútēs sailor; nautical, Argonaut
Explanation
An aeronaut is someone who flies an aircraft: a pilot. Originally, an aeronaut was specifically someone who flew a balloon. This word looks a lot like astronaut, and it means something similar: a pilot. Though an aeronaut can be someone who pilots any kind of flying vehicle, this word has most commonly applied to people who fly balloons: balloonists. In the mid-1800's, pioneering scientist and inventor Thaddeus S. C. Lowe made a record balloon journey from Cincinnati to South Carolina, thus becoming an early claimant to this word, which had been coined late in the previous century.
Vocabulary lists containing aeronaut
aer, aero
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"Women in Aviation" by Patricia and Fredrick McKissack
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aer
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Without any prior knowledge of ballooning, Donaldson bartered his way into owning a hot air balloon and debuted as an aeronaut in 1871.
From Salon • Nov. 3, 2024
Sempill offered a ride to another passenger, the aeronaut Charles Dollfus, an attaché with the French Air Ministry.
From Slate • Aug. 2, 2022
Reports of the mysterious aeronaut have cropped up on at least three occasions over the past year – but an LA pilot finally captured video evidence on Christmas Day.
From Fox News • Jul. 30, 2021
Plus: a deep dive into the character of Lee and the series’ attempt to give this cowboy aeronaut a tragic backstory.
From Slate • Nov. 30, 2020
He was perfectly aware of the peril they were in, but he held back from implying that the aeronaut wasn’t.
From "The Subtle Knife" by Philip Pullman
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
