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nacelle

[nuh-sel]
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noun
  1. the enclosed part of an airplane, dirigible, etc., in which the engine is housed or in which cargo or passengers are carried.
  2. the car of a balloon.
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Origin of nacelle

1475–85; < French: a small boat < Late Latin nāvicella, for Latin nāvicula, equivalent to nāvi(s) ship (see nave) + -cula -cule1
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for nacelle

Historical Examples

  • The point C is the centre of the propeller, or, in the case of a "pusher" aeroplane, the centre of the nacelle.

    The Aeroplane Speaks

    H. 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.

  • Then his glances fell upon the aviator just on the point of stepping from the nacelle, or cockpit.

British Dictionary definitions for nacelle

nacelle

noun
  1. a streamlined enclosure on an aircraft, not part of the fuselage, to accommodate an engine, passengers, crew, etc
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Word Origin

C20: from French: small boat, from Late Latin nāvicella, a diminutive of Latin nāvis ship
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 nacelle

n.

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.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper