zeppelin

Definition

A large, rigid airship filled with helium or hydrogen, used historically for passenger transport and bombing raids, named after its German inventor.

Example Usage

The zeppelin soared silently across the evening sky, a relic of early aviation history.

Origin

Named after Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin, the German aeronautical engineer who developed the rigid airship design in the 1890s.

Fun Fact

The Hindenburg disaster of 1937, in which a hydrogen-filled zeppelin caught fire, effectively ended the era of passenger zeppelin travel.

Source: Definition backfill (hailey)

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