English Online Dictionary. What means air? What does air mean?
English
Alternative forms
- aire, ayre, eyr (obsolete)
- ayr (especially when referring to the form of music)
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ɛə̯/, /ɛː/
- (General American) enPR: âr, IPA(key): /ɛɚ/, /ɛɹ/
- (New Zealand) IPA(key): /eə̯/, [ɪə̯~eə̯]
- (General Australian) IPA(key): /eə̯/, /eː/
- Homophones: Ayr, ere, eyre, heir, are (unit of measurement); err (one pronunciation); e'er (US); ear (NZ)
- Rhymes: -ɛə(ɹ)
Etymology 1
From Middle English aire, from Old French air, from Latin āēr, from Ancient Greek ἀήρ (aḗr). Displaced native Old English lyft. More at lift, loft.
Noun
air (countable and uncountable, plural airs)
- (uncountable, meteorology) The substance constituting Earth's atmosphere, particularly:
- (historical, philosophy, alchemy) understood as one of the four elements of the ancient Greeks and Romans.
- Synonym: wind
- (historical, medicine) understood as a particular local substance with supposed effects on human health.
- (physics) understood as a gaseous mixture of nitrogen, oxygen, and various trace gases.
- (historical, philosophy, alchemy) understood as one of the four elements of the ancient Greeks and Romans.
- (usually with the) The apparently open space above the ground which this substance fills, (historical) formerly thought to be limited by the firmament but (meteorology) now considered to be surrounded by the near vacuum of outer space.
- A breeze; a gentle wind.
- A feeling or sense.
- November 2 2014, Daniel Taylor, "Sergio Agüero strike wins derby for Manchester City against 10-man United," guardian.co.uk
- Smalling’s quick one-two of yellow cards towards the end of the first half had left an air of inevitability about what would follow and, if anything, it was probably a surprise that City restricted themselves to Sergio Agüero’s goal bearing in mind another of United’s defenders, Marcos Rojo, was taken off on a stretcher early in the second half with a dislocated shoulder.
- A sense of poise, graciousness, or quality.
- (usually in the plural) Pretension; snobbishness; pretence that one is better than others.
- (music) A song, especially a solo; an aria.
- (informal) Nothing; absence of anything.
- (countable, uncountable) An air conditioner or the processed air it produces.
- (obsolete, chemistry) Any specific gas.
- (snowboarding, skateboarding, motor sports) A jump in which one becomes airborne.
- A television or radio signal; (by extension) media broadcasts in general.
- (uncountable) Publicity.
Synonyms
- atmosphere
- aura
- luft
- nimbus
- gas
Derived terms
Pages starting with “air”.
Related terms
- aerate
- aero-
- aria
Descendants
- → Jersey Dutch: êr
Translations
Verb
air (third-person singular simple present airs, present participle airing, simple past and past participle aired)
- (transitive) To bring (something) into contact with the air, so as to freshen or dry it.
- (transitive) To let fresh air into (a room or a building), to ventilate.
- (transitive) To give voice to, to make public (an opinion etc.).
- (Can we verify(+) this sense?) To discuss varying viewpoints on a given topic.
- (transitive) To broadcast (a television show etc.).
- (intransitive) To be broadcast.
- (transitive, British, MLE, slang) To ignore (a person).
Derived terms
Translations
Etymology 2
Verb
air
- Pronunciation spelling of are.
Anagrams
- ARI, Ari, IAR, IRA, Ira, RIA, Rai, rai, raï, ria
Cornish
Alternative forms
- ayr
Etymology
From Old Cornish aer, aƿui(r), borrowed from Latin aer.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [eːɹ]
Noun
air m
- air
Dutch
Etymology
Borrowed from French air, from Middle French air, from Old French air, from Latin āēr.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ɛːr/
- Hyphenation: air
- Rhymes: -ɛːr
Noun
air m (plural airs, diminutive airtje n)
- air, pretension or pretentious attitude
- tune, melody
Descendants
- Afrikaans: air
French
Etymology
Inherited from Old French air, aire, from Latin āēr.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ɛʁ/
- Homophones: aire, airent, aires, airs, ère, ères, erre, errent, erres, ers (general), haire, haires, hère, hères, r (aspirated)
Noun
air m (plural airs)
- air (gases of the atmosphere)
- trou d’air ― air pocket
- résistance de l’air ― air resistance
- tune, aria
- appearance
- avoir l’air ― to appear, to look, to seem
- air de famille ― family resemblance
- air (pretension)
- prendre des airs ― to put on airs
- se donner des airs ― give oneself airs
Derived terms
Further reading
- “air”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Anagrams
- ira
- rai
Gothic
Romanization
air
- Romanization of 𐌰𐌹𐍂
Indonesian
Etymology
From Malay air, from Classical Malay اير (air), from Proto-Malayic *air, from Proto-Malayo-Chamic *air, from Proto-Malayo-Sumbawan *wair, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *wahiʀ.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈʔä.(j)ir/
- Hyphenation: a‧ir
Noun
air (first-person possessive airku, second-person possessive airmu, third-person possessive airnya)
- water
- clear liquid H₂O
- mineral water
- one of the four elements in alchemy
- one of the five basic elements in some other theories
- (colloquial) a cockfight round which started by spraying water to the cock.
Derived terms
Related terms
Further reading
- “air” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016.
Irish
Etymology 1
From Old Irish airid (“ploughs, tills”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /aɾʲ/
Verb
air (present analytic aireann, future analytic airfidh, verbal noun ar, past participle airthe)
- (literary, transitive, intransitive) plough
Conjugation
Noun
air m
- genitive singular of ar
Etymology 2
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): (stressed) /ɛɾʲ/, (unstressed) /əɾʲ/
Pronoun
air (emphatic airsean)
- third-person singular masculine of ar (on him, on it m)
Mutation
References
- Ó Dónaill, Niall (1977) “air”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN
- G. Toner, M. Ní Mhaonaigh, S. Arbuthnot, D. Wodtko, M.-L. Theuerkauf, editors (2019), “3 airid”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language
Kedah Malay
Etymology
From Proto-Malayic *air, from Proto-Malayo-Chamic *air, from Proto-Malayo-Sumbawan *wair, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *wahiʀ.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ä.jäq/
Noun
air
- water.
- Air manis
- Sweet water
- Air manis
Kein
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ɑiɾ/
Noun
air
- woman
Further reading
- Bemal Organized Phonology Data
Ludian
Etymology
From Proto-Finnic *airo.
Noun
air
- oar
Malay
Etymology
From Proto-Malayic *air, from Proto-Malayo-Chamic *air, from Proto-Malayo-Sumbawan *wair, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *wahiʀ.
First attested in the Talang Tuo inscription, 684 AD, as Old Malay [script needed] (āir).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /air/
- *
- Rhymes: -air, -ir
- (Johor-Riau) IPA(key): [aʲɪː, -ʲeː, ʲe̞ː]
Noun
air (Jawi spelling اٴير, informal 1st possessive airku, 2nd possessive airmu, 3rd possessive airnya)
- water (liquid H2O)
- 2012, Faridah Abdul Rashid, Research on the Early Malay Doctors : 1900-1957 : Malaya and Singapore [3]
- 2012, Faridah Abdul Rashid, Research on the Early Malay Doctors : 1900-1957 : Malaya and Singapore [3]
Alternative forms
- aek (Pontianak)
- aer (Medan)
- ayer (obsolete, surviving in place names, pre-1972 in British East Indies)
- ayar
Derived terms
Descendants
- Baba Malay: aye
- Indonesian: air
References
- Blust's Austronesian Comparative Dictionary
- Pijnappel, Jan (1875) “اير ajar”, in Maleisch-Hollandsch woordenboek, John Enschede en Zonen, Frederik Muller, page 86
- Wilkinson, Richard James (1901) “اير ayer or ayar”, in A Malay-English dictionary (romanised), Hong Kong: Kelly & Walsh limited, page 64
- Wilkinson, Richard James (1932) “ayer”, in A Malay-English dictionary (romanised), volume I, Mytilene, Greece: Salavopoulos & Kinderlis, pages 56-7
Further reading
- “air” in Pusat Rujukan Persuratan Melayu | Malay Literary Reference Centre, Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, 2017.
Norman
Etymology
From Latin āēr.
Noun
air m (plural airs)
- air (mixture of gases that make up the earth's atmosphere)
Related terms
- atmosphère, atmosphéthe
Old French
Alternative forms
- aer, aïr, ar, eir, aeir, eyer, aire
Etymology
From Latin āēr.
Noun
air oblique singular, m (oblique plural airs, nominative singular airs, nominative plural air)
- air (mixture of gases that make up the earth's atmosphere)
Descendants
- French: air
- Norman: air
- → Middle English: aire, ayre, eire, eyre, aere
- English: air
- Scots: air
- Yola: aare
Old Irish
Alternative forms
- ar
Etymology
From the same root as ar (“for”, preposition).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /arʲ/
Conjunction
air
- for (because, since)
For quotations using this term, see Citations:air.
Old Javanese
Etymology
Inherited from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *wahiR, compare Malay air.
Noun
air
- water
- Synonyms: bañu, jahnī, jala, salila, tīrtha, toya, uda, wari, wwe
Alternative forms
- er
- her
Derived terms
Further reading
- "air" in P.J. Zoetmulder with the collaboration of S.O. Robson, Old Javanese-English Dictionary. 's-Gravenhage: M. Nijhoff, 1982.
Pohnpeian
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ɐjir/
Verb
air
- (transitive) to strip off, as when stripping insulation off a wire
- (transitive) to wipe off a ropelike object by drawing it through one's hand or fingers
Scots
Etymology 1
From Middle English air, from Old French air, from Latin āēr.
Noun
air (uncountable)
- air, atmosphere
Derived terms
- air-cock (“weathercock”)
- air-goat (“snipe”)
References
- “air, n.1” in the Dictionary of the Scots Language, Edinburgh: Scottish Language Dictionaries.
Etymology 2
From Icelandic ar (“mote, speck of dust”).
Alternative forms
- aire, aer
Noun
air (plural airs)
- (Orkney, Shetland, Caithness, Banff) A small quantity, particle, morsel; pinch (of snuff); whiff; taste
References
- “air, n.2” in the Dictionary of the Scots Language, Edinburgh: Scottish Language Dictionaries.
Etymology 3
Perhaps from air. See above.
Verb
air (third-person singular simple present airs, present participle airin, simple past aired, past participle aired)
- (Orkney) to taste
References
- “air, v.” in the Dictionary of the Scots Language, Edinburgh: Scottish Language Dictionaries.
Etymology 4
From Middle English ore, from Old English ār, from Proto-West Germanic *airu.
Alternative forms
- aer (Shetland)
Noun
air (plural airs)
- (Orkney, Caithness, Northern) oar
References
- “air, n.3” in the Dictionary of the Scots Language, Edinburgh: Scottish Language Dictionaries.
Etymology 5
Derived from Old Norse eyrr.
Alternative forms
- aer, aire, ayre, er (Insular)
Noun
air (plural airs)
- (Orkney, Shetland) gravelly beach
References
- “air, n.4” in the Dictionary of the Scots Language, Edinburgh: Scottish Language Dictionaries.
Etymology 6
From Middle English eire, from Old French eire, from Latin iter (“journey”).
Noun
air (plural airs)
- (obsolete) eyre
References
- “air, n.5” in the Dictionary of the Scots Language, Edinburgh: Scottish Language Dictionaries.
Etymology 7
From Middle English er, from Old English ǣr, from Proto-West Germanic *airi.
Alternative forms
- ear
Adverb
air (not comparable)
- early
Adjective
air (not comparable)
- early
References
- “air, adv., adj.” in the Dictionary of the Scots Language, Edinburgh: Scottish Language Dictionaries.
Scottish Gaelic
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ɛrʲ/
- (Lewis, South Uist) IPA(key): [ɛð]
- (South Barra, Vatersay) IPA(key): [ɛr̝]
Etymology 1
From a conflation of three Old Irish prepositions:
- ar, air (“for”) (triggering lenition), from Proto-Celtic *ɸare (“in front of”), from Proto-Indo-European *pr̥h₂i. Cognates include Ancient Greek παρά (pará, “beside”) and English fore.
- for (“on”) (triggering no mutation), from Proto-Celtic *uɸor (“over, on”) (compare Welsh ar, Breton war), from Proto-Indo-European *upér (compare Latin super, Ancient Greek ὑπέρ (hupér), Old English ofer).
- íar (“after”) (triggering eclipsis), from Proto-Celtic *eɸirom (“after, behind”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁epi.
Cognates include Irish ar and Manx er.
Preposition
air (+ dative, triggers lenition in certain established phrases)
- on, upon
- air bàrr a' bhalla ― on top of the wall
- tha mi air an rathad ― I'm on my way
- air m' fhacal, chan innis mi dhi ― on my word, I will not tell her
- beag air bheag ― little by little (literally, “little on little”)
- in (certain geographical contexts)
- air a' Ghàidhealtachd ― in the Highlands
- air an dùthaich ― in the countryside
- of, concerning
- iomradh air do ghliocas ― a report of thy wisdom
- by
- air ainm ― by name
- (idiomatic) Used to indicate inalienable possession, feelings and minor medical conditions
- dè an t-ainm a tha ort? ― what's your name? (literally, “what the name that is on you?”)
- tha an t-acras orm ― I'm hungry (literally, “the hunger is on me”)
- tha falt dubh orra ― they have black hair (literally, “black hair is on them”)
- tha an cnatan oirre ― she has a bad cold (literally, “the cold is on her”)
- for, on account of, by means of, through, within (triggers lenition)
- air an adhbhar sin ― for that reason
- air bheag de làithean ― within a few days
- Used with a verbal noun to indicate a state (triggers lenition)
- bha mi air bhoil às dèidh dhomh siud fhaicinn ― I was enraged after I saw that
- bhiomaid air chall nan robh sinn anns a' choille ud ― we'd be lost if we were in that forest
- thèid mi air chèilidh air mo sheanmhair ― I will visit my grandmother
- (in conjunction with the verb bi) must, have to
- tha e air ri phàigheadh ― he has to pay (literally, “it is on him to pay”)
- (in one common phrase) or (triggers lenition)
- rud air choreigin ― something or other
- Used with a verbal noun to indicate the perfect tense; after
- tha mi air an obair a dhèanamh ― I have done the work (literally, “I am after the work its doing”)
- bha iad uile air falbh sa mhadainn ― they had all left in the morning (literally, “they were all after leaving in the morning”)
- bhithinn air faighinn às leis ― I would have gotten away with it (literally, “I would be after getting away with it”)
Inflection
Derived terms
- air dheireadh (“behind; late”)
- air sgàth (“for the sake of”)
- airson (“for”)
Pronoun
air
- third-person singular masculine of air: on him, on it
Etymology 2
Reduced form of thar.
Alternative forms
- ar
Preposition
air (+ genitive, triggers lenition)
- form of thar; rarely used outwith the old counting system
- deich air fhichead ― thirty (literally, “ten over twenty”)
- a' dol air beinn ― going over a mountain
Usage notes
- The rule that this preposition governs the genitive is inconsistent.
Derived terms
- air fhichead (“twenty-...”)
Further reading
- Edward Dwelly (1911) “air”, in Faclair Gàidhlig gu Beurla le Dealbhan [The Illustrated Gaelic–English Dictionary][4], 10th edition, Edinburgh: Birlinn Limited, →ISBN
- MacBain, Alexander, Mackay, Eneas (1911) “air”, in An Etymological Dictionary of the Gaelic Language[5], Stirling, →ISBN
- MacLennan, Malcolm (1925) A Pronouncing and Etymological Dictionary of the Gaelic Language, Edinburgh: J. Grant, →OCLC
Veps
Etymology
From Proto-Finnic *airo.
Noun
air
- oar
Declension
Welsh
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ai̯r/
Noun
air
- Soft mutation of gair.