Aviate
/ˈeɪ.vi.eɪt/noun
To pilot or operate an aircraft.
Did you know?Aviate is built from Latin avis, meaning “bird,” showing how modern aviation borrowed the language of feathers, flight, and the ancient dream of becoming birdlike.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*h₂éwis
“bird”
Latin
Latin
avis
“bird”
Late Latin
Latin
aviātus
“equipped with birds? / formed from avis (medieval/derived formation)”
19th Century
English
aviate
“to fly or navigate an aircraft”
Modern English
English
aviate
“to pilot or operate an aircraft”