Where does “dirigible” come from?
Dirigible comes from French dirigeable, formed with the suffix -able (from Middle French -able, from Latin -abilis) attached to Latin dirigo, meaning to direct or guide, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European h₃reǵ-.
dirigible (English): A self-propelled airship that can be steered;...
Definitions
- A self-propelled airship that can be steered;...
Ancestry of “dirigible”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | French | dirigeable | directable; dirigible, blimp |
| 2 | French | diriger | to run; to direct; to supervise; to oversee; to... |
| 3 | Middle French | diriger | — |
| 4 | Latin | dīrigō | — |
| 5 | Latin | dis- | asunder, apart, in two; reversal, removal;... |
| 6 | Latin | calceus | shoe |
| 7 | Latin | calx | limestone; chalk; the finish line |
| 8 | Ancient Greek | χάλιξ | small stone, pebble; gravel, rubble |
Words derived from “dirigible”