air layer

verb (used without object)

1. to treat a plant by means of air layering.
2. to use air layering to propagate a plant.

noun

1. a plant, commonly a young one, that has been propagated by air layering.

Word History and Origins

Origin of air layer¹

First recorded in 1910–15

Example Sentences

Corey agreed, saying that during a temperature inversion, “sound from a concert venue that travels up into the warmer air layer and bends downward after passing over buildings and other obstacles reaching the ground miles away from the concert.”

From Los Angeles Times

And it has nothing to do with the Saharan Air Layer, a mass of extremely dry and dusty air that forms over the Sahara Desert and moves across the North Atlantic from late spring to early fall, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

From Seattle Times

Although dust from the Sahara Desert has reached Florida multiple times this summer — a common occurrence known as the Saharan Air Layer — the sandstorm in the video has nothing to do with this phenomenon, meteorologists told the AP.

From Seattle Times

And dust storms from the Saharan air layer, which contains warm, dry and dusty air from Africa, can suppress tropical cyclones.

From Scientific American

A sleet-snow mix and plain old sleet occurs when an above-freezing air layer aloft resides below the snow layer, but the air closer to the ground is colder, causing refreezing of melting snow before getting to the surface.

From Washington Post