aileron

Meaning

Noun

• The hinged part on the trailing edge of an airplane wing, used to control longitudinal turns.
• A half gable, as at the end of a penthouse or of the aisle of a church.

Origin

• Borrowed from French aileron, diminutive of aile, also refers to the extremities of a bird's wings used to control their flight. It first appeared in print in the 7th edition of Cassell's French-English Dictionary of 1877, with its lead meaning of "small wing". In the context of powered airplanes it appears in print about 1908, in the French aviation journal L'Aérophile.