Airsickness

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A type of physical discomfort that occurs when a person feels queasy or dizzy aboard an aircraft due to its movement and changes in altitude
2. A form of nausea or dizziness experienced by individuals during air travel caused by the aircraft's motion and altitude variations
3. A condition characterized by feelings of unease or vertigo that arise while flying, related to the flight's movement and elevation changes

Etymology: Airsickness is about as transparent as compound words get: "air" plus "sickness," with the sense of nausea and dizziness that comes from being in the air. Its parts are the everyday English words "air" and "sickness," and the term is built on a related adjective, "airsick," which in turn is formed from the same two elements. The noun is therefore the adjective "airsick" with the suffix "-ness" attached, a common English pattern for turning an adjective into a state or condition, as in "sickness" itself from "sick." The formation shows how the word came to exist. Once people were flying in aircraft, the motion-related queasiness they felt needed a name, and English speakers reached for the existing building blocks rather than coining anything new. The pattern is the same one that produces seasickness and carsickness, where a vehicle or environment is named before the sickness it causes.

Synonyms: motion sickness, nausea, vertigo, discomfort, dizziness

Antonyms: comfort, well-being, stability, balance, ease