parafoil

American  

[par-uh-foil] / ˈpær əˌfɔɪl /

noun

1. a structure, usually made of a strong yet light fabric, having a shape similar to that of an airplane wing, and used as a kite or a parachute.

---

parafoil British  

/ ˈpærəˌfɔɪl /

noun

1. a nonrigid aerofoil inflated by the wind, used in kites and paragliders

---

Etymology

Origin of parafoil

para- ³ + (air)foil

Example Sentences

Once the rocket reaches space, the fairing breaks into two pieces, each of which deploys a parachute-like material known as a parafoil to slow down.

From The Verge

Musk tweeted that the fairing system deployed a parafoil and there was an attempt to catch it during descent, but that failed.

From Seattle Times

It has onboard thrusters and a guidance system to bring it through the atmosphere intact, then releases a parafoil and our ship, named Mr. Steven, with basically a giant catcher’s mitt welded on, tries to catch it.

From The Verge

After the fairing separated from the Falcon 9's second stage, it fell back to Earth and deployed a parafoil to slow its fall to the Pacific Ocean.

From Scientific American

Musk announced on Twitter that the parafoil deployment occurred.

From Scientific American