airfoil
[air-foil]
- any surface, as a wing, aileron, or stabilizer, designed to aid in lifting or controlling an aircraft by making use of the air currents through which it moves.
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Origin of airfoil
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Related Words for airfoil
pennon, appendage, feather, aileron, airfoil, pinion, hand, vane, pinna, stabilizer, flipper, dorsalairfoil
- US and Canadian a cross section of an aileron, wing, tailplane, or rotor bladeAlso called: aerofoil
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for airfoil
1922, U.S. form of aerofoil.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
airfoil
[âr′foil′]
- A structure having a shape that provides lift, propulsion, stability, or directional control in a flying object. An aircraft wing provides lift by causing air to pass at a higher speed over the wing than below it, resulting in greater pressure below than above. Propellers are airfoils that are spun rapidly to provide propulsion. See more at Bernoulli effect. See Note at aerodynamics.
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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.