Aerographer

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A specialist in atmospheric science who records and analyzes data regarding air pressure, temperature, humidity, and wind patterns
2. An expert in meteorological instrumentation who measures various atmospheric conditions and describes their effects on weather phenomena
3. A professional who conducts experiments and observations related to air dynamics and climate variability to contribute to weather forecasting and research

Etymology: "Aerographer" is a plain formation: it combines "aerography," a term for the description of the atmosphere, with the English suffix "-er," which marks a person who does or practises something. Taken together, the word names someone who practises aerography, which is the study and recording of atmospheric conditions. The first half is built from Greek roots. "Aero-" comes from "aēr," meaning air, and "-graphy" comes from "graphein," to write or record, so aerography is literally air-writing or air-recording. The sense is close to that of "geography," a description of the earth, applied to the sky and the lower atmosphere. The suffix does most of the work in making the word a job title. Attaching "-er" to a noun for a field of study yields a person who works in that field, in the same way that "photographer" follows from "photography." The word's meaning is therefore transparent: anyone reading it can work out that an aerographer is a specialist in recording the air.