anti-aircraftadj.n.
/ˌantɪˈɛːkrɑːft/, /ˌantɪˈɛːkraft/, U.S. /ˌænˌtaɪˈɛrˌkræft/, /ˌæn(t)iˈɛrˌkræft/ Military.
A. adj.
Used or intended for ground-based defence against hostile aircraft; deploying such defence; anti-aircraft gun n. a gun designed for this purpose, firing shells at a very high elevation. Abbreviated AA. Cf. ack-ack adj.The term occurs in a work ostensibly dated 1909 ( E. Hospitalier Vocabulaire Technique, Industriel & Commercial (new ed.) 538), but this date on the title page is thought to be an error for 1919.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > device for discharging missiles > firearm > piece of artillery > [noun] > anti-aircraft gun
anti-aircraft gun1911
Archibald1914
Archie1915
ack-ack1917
Chicago piano1936
Oerlikon1944
society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > device for discharging missiles > firearm > piece of artillery > [adjective] > anti-aircraft
anti-aircraft1911
AA1914
ack-ack1916
1911 Times 18 Dec. 5/4 The use of airships and aeroplanes in combination will arouse much interest in all armies, but we must not draw hasty conclusions from their use, since the Turks have neither aircraft nor anti-aircraft guns.
1915 Times 23 Feb. 4/5 The King has accepted from the Dover Anti-aircraft Corps a piece of the German bomb which was dropped at Dover.
1919 Athenæum 23 May 360/2 The anti-aircraft force.
1939 Times Weekly 15 Feb. 8 Two Regular regiments of anti-aircraft artillery were being brought to London to give additional protection to the city.
1941 Pop. Mech. Mar. 161 Its structure is sufficient to carry the ten-wheeled anti-aircraft guns.
1994 J. Coe What a Carve Up! (1995) 3 Godfrey Winshaw..was shot down by German anti-aircraft fire as he flew a top-secret mission over Berlin.
2012 M. R. Gordon & B. E. Trainor Endgame xxi. 395 He spotted antiaircraft ammunition and a detonation cord next to two propane tanks.
B. n.
Anti-aircraft defences or artillery; (also) a regiment or unit assigned to anti-aircraft defence. Cf. ack-ack n.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > armed forces > the Army > branch of army > [noun] > other branches
language1703
langue1799
guides1802
army intelligence1902
yak corps1904
A.E.F.1914
anti-aircraft1915
RAOC1918
1915 Gambardier Feb. 11/2 Of all the shows I've e'er been in, The ‘anti-aircraft’ is the thing.
1918 Boys' Life Mar. 28 (caption) A French scout plane high over the German lines, photographed from a second plane higher still, both machines under fire from anti-aircraft below.
1947 L. Hastings Dragons are Extra ix. 197 I had been passed A1 by the doctors in London and found myself back in uniform in anti-aircraft.
1959 Listener 24 Dec. 1108/2 The anti-aircraft did its stuff.
1987 E. Larrabee Commander in Chief 615 Add enemy resistance, which quickly built up, in antiaircraft and in fighters that would sometimes attempt a suicidal ramming of a B-29.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2014; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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adj.n.1911