Where does “airport” come from?
Airport derives from English air combined with English port, which comes from Latin porta meaning gate or entrance, itself from Latin portare meaning to carry, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European per-.
airport (English): An airfield (an area designated for the takeoff and landing of aircraft), including one or more runways and (for commercial airports) one or more passenger terminals
Definitions
- An airfield (an area designated for the takeoff and landing of aircraft), including one or more runways and (for commercial airports) one or more passenger terminals
Ancestry of “airport”, step by step
airport traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English Port
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Port | University of Portsmouth, used especially following post-nominal letters indicating status as a graduate |
| 2 | English | portfolio | A case for carrying papers, drawings,... |
| 3 | Italian | portafoglio | wallet, billfold; portfolio |
| 4 | Italian | foglio | sheet |
| 5 | Latin | folium | a leaf; a petal; a sheet or leaf of paper |
| 6 | Proto-Italic | *foljom | — |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰolh₃yom | leaf |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰleh₃- | bloom, flower |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰel- | to sound; to speak, roar, bark; shiny, white; to... |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰōl- | — |