Airstrike

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A military operation involving aircraft that targets ground positions with bombs or missiles emphasizes both accuracy and the element of surprise
2. The act of using aerial combat vehicles to launch offensive attacks on ground or naval assets is often critical during conflicts
3. An attack conducted by air forces striking specific targets on land from aircraft, typically to destroy enemy positions

Etymology: Air power was barely a decade old when the compound took shape. The word joins "air," which traces through Latin "aer" and Greek "aēr" back to a very old root for the sky and air, with "strike," an ordinary English word for a blow. Put together, the pair describes an attack delivered from the sky, which is exactly what early aviators made possible. The surprise is how literal the components remain. "Strike" in this sense is the same blow a fist or a hammer delivers, so the word means that the attack lands on its target as a hard, sudden hit. Nothing in the compound needed a special coinage; the two halves were already in common use and simply placed side by side once aircraft could drop bombs on ground targets.

Synonyms: air raid, air attack