Wordie [wûrd • ē]
Like Flickr, but without the photos.
|
16 wordies list
Leave a comment, citation, or usage note
|
first listed by:
angharad (640 words)
appears in these lists:
hedges's Words, by hedges
bkerr's Words, by bkerr
dandy's list, by dandy
|
What a Zeppelin-head. :-)
"Zeppelin" is not a synonym for "airship" or "dirigible" though many people use it that way. Zeppelin is a trade name and as such should always be capitalized, and only used to refer to a rigid airship produced by the Zeppelin company. It's like "Kleenex" or "Rollerblade."
Not all airships are dirigibles, either. The difference is that an airship is a "ballon dirigible," or "steerable balloon," while hot-air balloons--though airships--are not steerable.
Dirigibles include both rigid airships and blimps. Rigid airships contain a frame that holds the aircraft's shape regardless of whether the gas cells are filled with gas. A blimp is a large, sturdy (and steerable) balloon, in that it does not have a rigid frame underneath its outer covering (known as the envelope).