aerial

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English

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EnglishWikipediahas an article on:
Wikipedia
Anaerialshot of the Croatian townMotovun

Alternative forms

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Etymology

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FromLatināerius+‎-al,fromAncient Greekἀέριος(aérios),fromἀήρ(aḗr,“air”).

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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aerial(comparativemoreaerial,superlativemostaerial)

  1. Living or taking place in theair.[from 16th c.]
    The seabirds put on an astonishingaerialdisplay.
  2. (nowliteraryorhistorical)Made up ofairorgas;gaseous.[from 16th c.]
    • 1782,Joseph Priestley,Disquisitions relating to matter and spirit,section I:
      A soul [...] was first conceived to be anaerial,or an igneous substance, which animates the body during life, and makes its escape at death [...].
  3. Positionedhighup;elevated.[from 16th c.]
    Theaerialphotographs clearly showed the damage caused by the storm.
  4. Ethereal,insubstantial;imaginary.[from 16th c.]
    • 1714,Bernard Mandeville,The Fable of the Bees:
      the great Recompence in view, for which the most exalted Minds have with so much Alacrity, sacrifis'd their Quiet, Health, sensual Pleasures, and every inch of themselves, has never been any thing else but the Breath of Man, theAerialCoyn of Praise.
  5. Pertaining to theairoratmosphere;atmospheric.[from 17th c.]
  6. (aviation)Pertaining to avehiclewhich travels through theair;airborne;relating to or conducted by means ofaircraft.[from 17th c.]
    • 2013June 7,Ed Pilkington,“‘Killer robots’ should be banned in advance, UN told”,inThe Guardian Weekly,volume188,number26,page 6:
      In his submission to the UN, [Christof] Heyns points to the experience of drones. Unmannedaerialvehicles were intended initially only for surveillance, and their use for offensive purposes was prohibited, yet once strategists realised their perceived advantages as a means of carrying out targeted killings, all objections were swept out of the way.
  7. (botany)Above theground

Derived terms

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Translations

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Noun

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aerial(pluralaerials)

  1. (chieflyUK)A rod, wire, or other structure for receiving or transmitting radio, television signals etc.
  2. Amove,as in dancing or skateboarding, involving one or both feet leaving the ground.
    • 2002,Joseph A. Kotarba, John M. Johnson,Postmodern Existential Sociology,page78:
      In their dancing, clubbers were flamboyant. They experimented with new dance steps and improvisations, including risky maneuvers andaerialsin which women were flipped into the air.
  3. (photography)Anaerial photograph.
    • 2010,Jean Hartley,Africa's Big Five and Other Wildlife Filmmakers:
      Hemment is on record as being the first person to filmaerialsof wildlife – he filmed a flock of wild ducks early in 1911, possibly on Rainey's Louisiana property.

Usage notes

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Some make a distinction between anantennaand anaerial,with the former used to indicate a rigid structure, and the latter consisting of a wire strung in the air. For those who do not make a distinction,antennais more commonly used in the United States and Australia, whileaerialis more commonly used in the United Kingdom.

Synonyms

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  • (device for receiving or transmitting):antenna
  • (dance move involving one or both feet leaving the ground):air step,acrobatic

Derived terms

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Translations

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The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions atWiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked

Anagrams

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