airborneadj.
/ˈɛːbɔːn/, U.S. /ˈɛrˌbɔrn/ Carried through the air; (of an aircraft, person, etc.) having left the ground; in flight; (of troops) carried by aircraft.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > progressive motion > moving with current of air or water > motion in the air > [adjective] > carried through the air
airborne1637
society > travel > air or space travel > action of flying (in) aircraft > specific flying operations or procedures > [adjective] > relating to moment of take-off > having taken off
airborne1909
1637 N. Whiting Le Hore di Recreatione 92 Whose curious art the aire-borne clouds derided.
1641 J. Milton Reason Church-govt. 58 Like that aire-born Helena in the fables.
1740 J. Thomson & D. Mallet Alfred i. ii. 15 Whence These air-born notes that sound in measur'd sweetness Thro this vast silence?
1798 H. J. Pye Naucratia ii. 29 They whose eye's averted sight Shrinks from the air-born phantoms of affright.
1828 W. Sotheby Italy & Other Poems 141 Like the youth, who, on his air-borne steed From fetters loos'd rock-bound Andromeda.
1857 Times 4 May 10/3 Viewed from a distant eminence, Madrid, in weather like this, must appear surmounted by a misty canopy of air-borne sand.
1880 Nature No. 532. 232 The theory..that cholera is air-borne.
1909 C. M. Doughty Cliffs 57 We've seaborne, airborne and now subsea fleets.
1920 Flight 12 48/1 An air-borne letter delivered by hand in Paris for 2s. 6d.
1941 War Fortnightly 20 June 1876/1 It was the first occasion on which a major operation had been undertaken by air-borne troops, without the aid of sea-borne or any other troops.
1970 Time 30 Mar. 42/1 In parakiting, the water skier becomes airborne when the trailing parachute pops open.
2003 Black Men Oct. 99 It operates in absolute silence to trap smoke, germs, dust, and irritating airborne particulates, such as diesel fumes and allergens.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2008; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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adj.1637