Blimp

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈblɪmp/

Definitions

1. A large pilotless or piloted aircraft filled with gas that is lighter than air, used for advertising, surveillance, or observation purposes
2. A large, buoyant craft that relies on a lighter-than-air gas for flight, often utilized for aerial advertising, navigation observation, or leisurely travel
3. An airship that moves slowly through the sky, typically filled with a gas that is less dense than the atmosphere, often employed for promotional purposes or aerial photography

Etymology: The most-repeated story about this word is wrong. It is often said that the American military in the early twentieth century sorted airships into "A-rigid" and "B-limp" classes, and that "blimp" came from the second. There was no American A-class of airships as such, and no record of non-rigid airships being officially designated "limp." The term appeared in print in England in 1916, a year before the first American B-class airship existed, so the military story cannot be the origin. The more widely credited account names Lieutenant A. D. Cunningham of the British Royal Navy as the coiner, in 1915. Most historians think the word is onomatopoeia, imitating the sound a non-rigid airship makes when its envelope is thumped with a hand. Its origin is not entirely certain, though, and that sound-based explanation is the best-supported guess rather than a documented fact.

Synonyms: airship, zeppelin