Where does “airfoil” come from?
Airfoil combines English air with English foil, which derives from Anglo-Norman eir and Latin folium meaning "leaf," ultimately from Proto-Indo-European bʰel-.
airfoil (English): A structure shaped to produce lift when moving in...
Definitions
- A structure shaped to produce lift when moving in...
Ancestry of “airfoil”, step by step
airfoil traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English FOIL
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | FOIL | To apply the FOIL algorithm to |
| 2 | Middle English | foilen | spoil a scent trail by crossing it |
| 3 | Old French | fouler | to tread, to stamp, to full; tread on, trample |
| 4 | Latin | fullo | fuller |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰleh₃- | bloom, flower |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰel- | to sound; to speak, roar, bark; shiny, white; to... |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰōl- | — |