aeronaut

[In Fr. aéronaute, fr. Lat. aer the air, and nauta = a sailor: or fr. Gr. ἀήρ ( aer ) = the air; ναύτης ( nautes ) = sailor; ναῦς (naus) = a ship.] I. Lit .: A human being or one of the inferior animals navigating the air. Used: (a) Of a human being who ascends in a balloon. "When the aeronaut wishes to descend he opens the valve at the top of the balloon by means of the cord, which allows gas to escape, and the balloon sinks." At kins on: Ganot's Physics, § 170. (b) Of a spider which sails aloft by means of a thread which itself has spun. "The little aéronaut, as soon as it arrived on board, was very active, running about, sometimes letting itself fall, and then re-ascending the same thread" Darwin Voyage round the World , ch. viil. II. Fig . One who commits himself to a political or other scheme, beautiful for a spectator to contemplate, but very perilous to the operator. "Let us be satisfied to admire rather than attempt to follow the aeronauts of France."- Burke . ā-er-on-âu'-tic, a . [(1) Lat. aër = the air, or Gr. ἀήρ (αν) = the air; (2) Lat. nautic us, Gr. ναυτικός ( nautikos ) = nautical, pertaining to ships.] Pertaining to the navigation of the air by means of balloons, or in some similar way.