air

• aire, ayre, eyr (obsolete)
• ayr (especially when referring to the form of music)

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ɛə̯/, /ɛː/

  • Audio (UK):

    (file)

• (General American) enPR: âr, IPA^(key): /ɛɚ/, /ɛɹ/

  • Audio (US):

    (file)

• (New Zealand) IPA^(key): /eə̯/, [ɪə̯~eə̯]
• (General Australian) IPA^(key): /eə̯/, /eː/
• Homophones: Ayr, Ayre, ere, eyre, heir, are (unit of measurement); err (one pronunciation); e'er (US); ear (NZ)
• Rhymes: -ɛə(ɹ)

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.

air (countable and uncountable, plural airs)

1. (uncountable) The substance constituting Earth's atmosphere: a gaseous mixture of nitrogen, oxygen, and various trace gases.

   This drill runs on compressed air.

   As you ascend, the air gets thinner.

   1. The substance of the atmosphere seen as an agency of freshness.

      I'm going outside to get some air.

      Open the window and let some air into the room.

   2. (historical, philosophy, alchemy) One of the four elements of the ancient Greeks and Romans.

      Synonym: wind

   3. (historical, medicine) A local environment or atmosphere, in the context of its effects on behavior, health, weather, etc.
      • 1991 May 12, “Kidnapped!”, in Jeeves and Wooster, Series 2, Episode 5:

        Jeeves: Foreign travel often liberates emotions best kept in check, sir. The air of North America is notoriously stimulating in this regard, as witness the regrettable behavior of its inhabitants in 1776.
        B. Wooster: Hm? What happened in 1776, Jeeves?
        Jeeves: I prefer not to dwell on it, if it's convenient to you, sir.

      There was a tension in the air which made me suspect an approaching storm.

2. (uncountable, loosely) The substance of the atmosphere on a planet other than Earth.

   The air on Mars is very thin and consists mostly of carbon dioxide.

3. (uncountable, 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.

   The flock of birds took to the air.

4. A breeze; a gentle wind.
5. A feeling or sense.

   to give it an air of artistry and sophistication

   • 1900, Charles W[addell] Chesnutt, chapter I, in The House Behind the Cedars, Boston, Mass.; New York, N.Y.: Houghton, Mifflin and Company […], →OCLC:

     The girl stooped to pluck a rose, and as she bent over it, her profile was clearly outlined. She held the flower to her face with a long-drawn inhalation, then went up the steps, crossed the piazza, opened the door without knocking, and entered the house with the air of one thoroughly at home.

   • 1951 October, H. A. Vallance, “Across Denmark by Lyntog”, in Railway Magazine, page 658:

     Even at the busiest periods, an air of quiet orderliness pervades the hall, and the first impression gained by the traveller is one of efficiency, neatness and cleanliness.

   • 1968, Robert Conquest, “The Purge Begins”, in The Great Terror: Stalin's Purge of the Thirties‎^[1], Macmillan Company, →LCCN, →OCLC, →OL, page 77:

     But the dull, cool, calculating effect given cumulatively through Stalin’s long career, the air of a great glacier moving slowly and by the easiest path to overwhelm some Alpine valley, is only part of the picture. At various times - and especially in his early career - the calm of his general manner was broken, and expression given to the driving emotions that possessed him.

   • 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.

   1. A sense of poise, graciousness, or quality.
      • 1815 December (indicated as 1816), [Jane Austen], chapter 4, in Emma: […], volume I, London: […] [Charles Roworth and James Moyes] for John Murray, →OCLC:

        "He is very plain, undoubtedly—remarkably plain:—but that is nothing compared with his entire want of gentility. I had no right to expect much, and I did not expect much; but I had no idea that he could be so very clownish, so totally without air. I had imagined him, I confess, a degree or two nearer gentility."

   2. (usually in the plural) Pretension; snobbishness; pretence that one is better than others.

      putting on airs

      • 1921, Ben Travers, chapter 1, in A Cuckoo in the Nest, Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, Page & Company, published 1925, →OCLC:

        He read the letter aloud. Sophia listened with the studied air of one for whom, even in these days, a title possessed some surreptitious allurement.

6. (music) A melody or song, especially a solo; an aria.
   • 1813 January 27, [Jane Austen], Pride and Prejudice: […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), London: […] [George Sidney] for T[homas] Egerton, […], →OCLC:

     "If I," said Mr. Collins, "were so fortunate as to be able to sing, I should have great pleasure, I am sure, in obliging the company with an air; for I consider music as a very innocent diversion, and perfectly compatible with the profession of a clergyman […] "

   • 1850, T. S. Arthur, “Deacon Smith and his Violin”, in Sketches of Life and Character‎^[2], Philadelphia: J. W. Bradley, →OCLC, page 70:

     The lad, his son, had obtained a Jew's-harp, and learned to play upon it the profane airs of "Yankee Doodle," "Hail Columbia," "St. Patrick's Day," and "Auld Lang Syne."

7. (informal) Nothing; absence of anything.
8. (countable, uncountable) An air conditioning system.

   Could you turn on the air?

   Hey, did you mean to leave the airs on all week while you were on vacation?

9. (obsolete: chemistry) Any specific gas.
10. (uncountable, snowboarding, skateboarding, motor sports) The state of being briefly airborne during a jump.
11. A television or radio signal; (by extension) media broadcasts in general.
    • 1996, Thomas Streeter, Selling the Air, →ISBN:

      Ernst gave a list of political activists who had been denied access to the air by private broadcasters, and pointed out that "Secretary Hoover's signature in New York sells for $150,000 to $200,000," thus limiting access to the air on the part of labor unions and other underrepresented groups.

    • 2001, Dana Stabenow, The Singing of the Dead, →ISBN, page 17:

      Coming to you live once a month, or whenever I feel like broadcasting a little pirate air.

    • 2015, Gary Andres, Paul Hernnson, Lobbying Reconsidered: Politics Under the Influence, page 149:

      “These members need air cover in the media.” Paid media is the admission ticket to enter the big-time Washington stage.

12. (uncountable) Publicity.

• atmosphere
• aura
• luft
• nimbus
• gas

English terms starting with “air”

• aerate
• aero-
• aria

• → Jersey Dutch: êr

air (third-person singular simple present airs, present participle airing, simple past and past participle aired)

1. (transitive) To bring (something) into contact with the air, so as to freshen or dry it.

   I'll hang these clothes on the rack to air them.

2. (transitive) To let fresh air into (a room or a building), to ventilate.

   It's getting quite stuffy in this room: let's open the windows and air it.

3. (transitive) To make public (an opinion, concern, issue, secret, differences, etc); to present to public view (and sometimes discussion).

   Residents used the public meeting to air their concerns about the poor state of the roads.

   • 2010 February 11, Rosie Swash, “John Mayer apologises after using N-word in Playboy interview”, in The Guardian‎^[3]:

     John Mayer has apologised for using a racist epithet in a recent interview with Playboy magazine, after a number of prominent black musicians aired their disapproval.

   • 1917, National Geographic, v.31, March 1917:

     Thus, in spite of all opposition, the rural and urban assemblies retained the germ of local government, and in spite of the dual control, as the result of which much of their influence was nullified, they did have a certain value in airing abuses and suggesting improvements.

4. (transitive) To broadcast (a television show etc.).

   The BBC decided not to air the controversial episode.

5. (intransitive) To be broadcast.

   This game show first aired in the 1990s and is still going today.

6. (transitive, British, MLE, slang) To ignore (a person).

   Why is this girl airing me?

air

1. Pronunciation spelling of are.

• ARI, Ari, IAR, IRA, Ira, RIA, Rai, rai, raï, ria

• ayr

From Old Cornish aer, aƿui(r), borrowed from Latin aer.

• IPA^(key): [eːɹ]

air m

1. air

Borrowed from French air, from Middle French air, from Old French air, from Latin āēr.

• IPA^(key): /ɛːr/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: air
• Rhymes: -ɛːr

air m (plural airs, diminutive airtje n)

1. air, pretension or pretentious attitude
2. tune, melody

• Afrikaans: air

Inherited from Old French air, aire, from Latin āēr.

• IPA^(key): /ɛʁ/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Homophones: aire, airent, aires, airs, ère, ères, erre, errent, erres, ers (general), haire, haires, hère, hères, r (aspirated)

air m (plural airs)

1. air (gases of the atmosphere)

   trou d’air ― air pocket

   résistance de l’air ― air resistance

2. tune, aria
3. appearance

   avoir l’air ― to appear, to look, to seem

   air de famille ― family resemblance

4. air (pretension)

   prendre des airs ― to put on airs

   se donner des airs ― give oneself airs

• “air”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

• ira
• rai

air

1. Romanization of 𐌰𐌹𐍂

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.

• (Standard Indonesian) IPA^(key): /ˈair/ [ˈa.ɪr]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -air
• Syllabification: air

air (first-person possessive airku, second-person possessive airmu, third-person possessive airnya)

1. water
   1. clear liquid H₂O
   2. mineral water
   3. one of the four elements in alchemy
   4. one of the five basic elements in some other theories
2. (colloquial) a cockfight round which begins by spraying water at the cock.

• “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.

From Old Irish airid (“ploughs, tills”).

• IPA^(key): /aɾʲ/

air (present analytic aireann, future analytic airfidh, verbal noun ar, past participle airthe)

1. (literary, transitive, intransitive) plough

air m

1. genitive singular of ar

• IPA^(key): (stressed) /ɛɾʲ/, (unstressed) /əɾʲ/

air (emphatic airsean)

1. third-person singular masculine of ar (on him, on it m)

• Ó Dónaill, Niall (1977) “air”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN
• Gregory Toner, Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Marie-Luise Theuerkauf, Dagmar Wodtko, editors (2019), “3 airid”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language

From Proto-Malayic *air, from Proto-Malayo-Chamic *air, from Proto-Malayo-Sumbawan *wair, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *wahiʀ.

• IPA^(key): /ä.jäq/

air

1. water.

   Air manis

   Sweet water

• IPA^(key): /ɑiɾ/

air

1. woman

• Bemal Organized Phonology Data

From Proto-Finnic *airo.

air

1. oar

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).

• IPA^(key): /air/

• Audio (Johor-Riau):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -air, -ir
• (Johor-Riau) IPA^(key): [aʲɪː, -ʲeː, ʲe̞ː]

air (Jawi spelling اٴير, informal 1st possessive airku, 2nd possessive airmu, 3rd possessive airnya)

1. water (liquid H₂O)
   • 2012, Faridah Abdul Rashid, Research on the Early Malay Doctors : 1900-1957 : Malaya and Singapore [4]

     loji rawatan air

     water treatment plant

• aek (Pontianak)
• aer (Medan)
• ayer (obsolete, surviving in place names, pre-1972 in British East Indies)
• ayar

• Baba Malay: aye
• Indonesian: air

• 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

• “air” in Pusat Rujukan Persuratan Melayu | Malay Literary Reference Centre, Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, 2017.

From Latin āēr.

air m (plural airs)

1. air (mixture of gases that make up the earth's atmosphere)

• atmosphère, atmosphéthe

• aer, aïr, ar, eir, aeir, eyer, aire

From Latin āēr.

air oblique singular, m (oblique plural airs, nominative singular airs, nominative plural air)

1. air (mixture of gases that make up the earth's atmosphere)

• French: air
• Norman: air
• → Middle English: aire, ayre, eire, eyre, aere
  • English: air
  • Scots: air
  • Yola: aare

• ar

From the same root as ar (“for”, preposition).

• IPA^(key): /arʲ/

air

1. for (because, since)

For quotations using this term, see Citations:air.

Inherited from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *wahiR, compare Malay air.

air

1. water

   Synonyms: bañu, jahnī, jala, salila, tīrtha, toya, uda, wari, wwe

• er
• her

• "air" in P.J. Zoetmulder with the collaboration of S.O. Robson, Old Javanese-English Dictionary. 's-Gravenhage: M. Nijhoff, 1982.

• IPA^(key): /ɐjir/

air

1. (transitive) to strip off, as when stripping insulation off a wire
2. (transitive) to wipe off a ropelike object by drawing it through one's hand or fingers

   Air mahs keleuen.

   Please wipe the sap off the hibiscus bast.

From Middle English air, from Old French air, from Latin āēr.

air (uncountable)

1. air, atmosphere

• air-cock (“weathercock”)
• air-goat (“snipe”)

• “air, n.¹”, in The Dictionary of the Scots Language, Edinburgh: Scottish Language Dictionaries, 2004–present, →OCLC.

From Icelandic ar (“mote, speck of dust”).

• aire, aer

air (plural airs)

1. (Northern Isles, Caithness, Banff) A small quantity, particle, morsel; pinch (of snuff); whiff; taste

• “air, n.²”, in The Dictionary of the Scots Language, Edinburgh: Scottish Language Dictionaries, 2004–present, →OCLC.

Perhaps from air. See above.

air (third-person singular simple present airs, present participle airin, simple past aired, past participle aired)

1. (Orkney) to taste

• “air, v.”, in The Dictionary of the Scots Language, Edinburgh: Scottish Language Dictionaries, 2004–present, →OCLC.

From Middle English ore, from Old English ār, from Proto-West Germanic *airu.

• aer (Shetland)

air (plural airs)

1. (Orkney, Caithness, Northern Scots) oar

• “air, n.³”, in The Dictionary of the Scots Language, Edinburgh: Scottish Language Dictionaries, 2004–present, →OCLC.

Derived from Old Norse eyrr.

• aer, aire, ayre, er (Northern Isles)

air (plural airs)

1. (Northern Isles) gravelly beach

• “air, n.⁴”, in The Dictionary of the Scots Language, Edinburgh: Scottish Language Dictionaries, 2004–present, →OCLC.

From Middle English eire, from Old French eire, from Latin iter (“journey”).

air (plural airs)

1. (obsolete) eyre

• “air, n.⁵”, in The Dictionary of the Scots Language, Edinburgh: Scottish Language Dictionaries, 2004–present, →OCLC.

From Middle English er, from Old English ǣr, from Proto-West Germanic *airi.

• ear

air (not comparable)

1. early

air (not comparable)

1. early

• “air, adv., adj.”, in The Dictionary of the Scots Language, Edinburgh: Scottish Language Dictionaries, 2004–present, →OCLC.

• IPA^(key): /ɛrʲ/
• (Lewis, South Uist) IPA^(key): [ɛð]
• (Barra) IPA^(key): (preposition) [əɾʲ~əʒ], (3sg conjugation) [æɾʲ~æʒ]^[1]

From a conflation of three Old Irish prepositions:

1. 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.
2. for (“on”) (triggering no mutation), from Proto-Celtic *uɸer (“over, on”) (compare Welsh ar, Breton war), from Proto-Indo-European *upér (compare Latin super, Ancient Greek ὑπέρ (hupér), Old English ofer).
3. íar (“after”) (triggering eclipsis), from Proto-Celtic *eɸirom (“after, behind”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁epi.

Cognates include Irish ar and Manx er.

air (+ dative, triggers lenition in certain established phrases)

1. 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”)

2. in (certain geographical contexts)

   air a' Ghàidhealtachd ― in the Highlands

   air an dùthaich ― in the countryside

3. of, concerning

   iomradh air do ghliocas ― a report of thy wisdom

4. by

   air ainm ― by name

5. from

   theich an duine orm ― the man fled from me

6. (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”)

7. 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

8. 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

9. (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”)

10. (in one common phrase) or (triggers lenition)

    rud air choreigin ― something or other

11. 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”)

• air dheireadh (“behind; late”)
• air sgàth (“for the sake of”)
• airson (“for”)

air

1. third-person singular masculine of air: on him, on it

Reduced form of thar.

• ar

air (+ genitive, triggers lenition)

1. form of thar; rarely used outside of the old counting system

   deich air fhichead ― thirty (literally, “ten over twenty”)

   a' dol air beinn ― going over a mountain

• The rule that this preposition governs the genitive is inconsistent.

• air fhichead (“twenty-...”)

• Edward Dwelly (1911) “air”, in Faclair Gàidhlig gu Beurla le Dealbhan [The Illustrated Gaelic–English Dictionary]‎^[5], 10th edition, Edinburgh: Birlinn Limited, →ISBN
• MacBain, Alexander, Mackay, Eneas (1911) “air”, in An Etymological Dictionary of the Gaelic Language‎^[6], Stirling, →ISBN
• MacLennan, Malcolm (1925) A Pronouncing and Etymological Dictionary of the Gaelic Language, Edinburgh: J. Grant, →OCLC

From Proto-Finnic *airo.

air

1. oar

Inflection of air (inflection type 1/ilo)
nominative sing.	air
genitive sing.	airon
partitive sing.	airod
partitive plur.	airoid
	singular	plural
nominative	air	airod
accusative	airon	airod
genitive	airon	airoiden
partitive	airod	airoid
essive-instructive	airon	airoin
translative	airoks	airoikš
inessive	airos	airoiš
elative	airospäi	airoišpäi
illative	airoho	airoihe
adessive	airol	airoil
ablative	airolpäi	airoilpäi
allative	airole	airoile
abessive	airota	airoita
comitative	aironke	airoidenke
prolative	airodme	airoidme
approximative I	aironno	airoidenno
approximative II	aironnoks	airoidennoks
egressive	aironnopäi	airoidennopäi
terminative I	airohosai	airoihesai
terminative II	airolesai	airoilesai
terminative III	airossai	—
additive I	airohopäi	airoihepäi
additive II	airolepäi	airoilepäi

• IPA^(key): /ai̯r/

air

1. Soft mutation of gair.