Helicopter

• Post Eagle
• May 15, 2016
• Word Etymology
• 0 Comments

The word for today is HELICOPTER which comes from two Greek words – HELICO meaning SPIRAL,  and PTERON meaning WING.

This word HELICO comes from the first form – HELIX – SPIRAL.
Do not confuse it with the word – HELIO – which means – SUN, as in the words HELIOCENTRIC – having the sun as the center and HELIOTROPIC – plants that turn toward the sun.

Some have mistakenly analyzed the word – HELICOPTER – into the elements HELI and COPTER as shown by the clipped word – COPTER.

The word PTERON is used in many words as we shall soon see.