aerodrome

• (aircraft): In the obsolete sense of “flying machine” coined by American aviation pioneer Samuel Langley in 1897, from Ancient Greek ἀεροδρόμος (aerodrómos, “traversing the air”).
• (airfield): In the sense of “airfield”, from aero- +‎ -drome, a suffix formed in analogy with hippodrome (“horse racecourse”), from Ancient Greek.

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aerodrome (plural aerodromes)

1. An airfield:
   • 1961 November, “Talking of Trains: Aircraft on rail tracks”, in Trains Illustrated, page 650:

     As a result of the accident at Southend Airport when a Hermes aircraft overshot the runway and fouled the down Shenfield to Southend Victoria line between Rochford and Prittlewell, the Eastern Region is considering warning arrangements, which have already been provided on some lines running past aerodromes.

   1. (law, Australia, Canada, term of art) Any area of land or water used for aircraft operation, regardless of facilities.
   2. An airfield used for managed aircraft operation, either military or civilian, having such facilities as are necessary for operation.
      • 1928 June 30, Kenya Gazette, page 862:

        Any person authorised by the Governor shall have the right of access at all reasonable times to any aerodrome other than a Royal Air Force aerodrome for the purpose of inspecting the aerodrome, […] .

      • 1998, Walter Schwenk, Rüdiger Schwenk, Aspects Of International Cooperation In Air Traffic Management, page 15:

        Apart from these aerodromes where ATC services have been established, a number of aerodromes exist where ATC services are not provided. In such cases the establishment of ATC services may be required by the aerodrome operators.

   3. (British) An airfield equipped with air traffic control facilities and hangars as well as accommodation for passengers and cargo; an airport.
2. (obsolete) A flying machine composed of aeroplanes (“airfoils, aerodynamic surfaces”). An aeroplane (“airplane, aircraft”), particularly one constructed by or according to the design of Samuel Pierpont Langley and Charles M. Manly.[1][2]
   • 1908 June 8, Nikola Tesla, Little Aeroplane Progress: So Says Nikola Tesla-But He Is Working on One of His Own, letter to The New York Times, Page 6,

     The Langley and Maxim aerodromes, which did not soar, were in my opinion better pieces of mechanism than their very latest imitations.

   • 1911 October, “The Progress of Science: Langley Memoir on Mechanical Flight”, in Popular Science:

     An aerodrome, chiefly of steel, weighing, apart from fuel and water, about twenty-four pounds, was launched on the Potomac River on May 6, 1896, and flew for over half a mile.

   • 1914 December, Popular Mechanics, page 811:

     This was apparently due to the weakness of the old Manley motor with which the aerodrome was originally equipped and which was capable of developing only 52 horsepower.

   • 1918, Automotive Industries, volume 39, page 718:

     During the years 1892 and 1893 four steam-propelled aerodromes were constructed.

• → Irish: aeradróm

• aerodromics