Airways

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A complex system designed to enable air circulation for breathing
2. The routes inside the respiratory system through which air moves ; organizations operating aircraft services for passenger or cargo transport
3. Channels that conduct air to and from the lungs ; firms that provide scheduled air transport for travelers and freight

Etymology: "Airways" is the plural of "airway," a compound of two very old English words. "Air" descends from Latin "āēr," borrowed from Greek "āḗr," and came into English through Old French as "aire" in Middle English. "Way" is much older and native, tracing back through Old English "weġ" to Proto-Germanic "wegaz." The compound is plain in construction: a passage for air. Its most common modern sense, the breathing passages in the body, was a natural extension of the literal idea of a route for air. The plural form "airways," which the word's usage typically takes, refers to the collection of such passages, such as the trachea and bronchi.

Synonyms: passages, channels, ducts