nacelle
- the enclosed part of an airplane, dirigible, etc., in which the engine is housed or in which cargo or passengers are carried.
- the car of a balloon.
Origin of nacelle
Examples from the Web for nacelle
Historical Examples of nacelle
The point C is the centre of the propeller, or, in the case of a "pusher" aeroplane, the centre of the nacelle.
The Aeroplane SpeaksH. Barber
The blood from his wound spurted all over the nacelle, obscuring the instruments, and in addition his machine caught fire.
Sixty Squadron R.A.F.Group-Captain A. J. L. Scott
Nacelle—That part of an aeroplane containing the engine and pilot and passenger, and to which the tail plane is not fixed.
The Aeroplane SpeaksH. Barber
Then his glances fell upon the aviator just on the point of stepping from the nacelle, or cockpit.
Don Hale with the Flying SquadronW. Crispin Sheppard
nacelle
- a streamlined enclosure on an aircraft, not part of the fuselage, to accommodate an engine, passengers, crew, etc
Word Origin for nacelle
Word Origin and History for nacelle
late 15c., "small boat," from Old French nacele "little boat, bark, skiff" (12c., Modern French nacelle), from Vulgar Latin *naucella, from Late Latin navicella "a little ship," diminutive of navis "ship" (see naval). Meaning "gondola of an airship" is from 1901; extended to "cockpit of an aircraft" by 1914; later transferred to other similar housings and structures.