*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of airway

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂ews- Proto-Indo-European *-r Proto-Indo-European *h₂ewsér Proto-Hellenic *auhḗr Ancient Greek ᾱ̓ήρ (āḗr)bor. Latin āēr Old French airbor. Middle English aire English air Proto-Indo-E

1 source sectionExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 1 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗
noun

The trachea. · The trachea and bronchial tree. · A flight path used by aeroplanes. · A roadway used for ventilation.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂ews- Proto-Indo-European *-r Proto-Indo-European *h₂ewsér Proto-Hellenic *auhḗr Ancient Greek ᾱ̓ήρ (āḗr)bor. Latin āēr Old French airbor. Middle English aire English air Proto-Indo-European *weǵʰ-der. Proto-Germanic *wegaz Proto-West Germanic *weg Old English weġ Middle English wey English way English airway From air + way.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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    {
      "name": "ety",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":af",
        "3": "air",
        "4": "way",
        "text": "+",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *h₂ews-\nProto-Indo-European *-r\nProto-Indo-European *h₂ewsér\nProto-Hellenic *auhḗr\nAncient Greek ᾱ̓ήρ (āḗr)bor.\nLatin āēr\nOld French airbor.\nMiddle English aire\nEnglish air\nProto-Indo-European *weǵʰ-der.\nProto-Germanic *wegaz\nProto-West Germanic *weg\nOld English weġ\nMiddle English wey\nEnglish way\nEnglish airway\n[Appendix:Glossary#loanword|Borrowed]] from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"keyword_abbrev\" : \"bor.\", \"keyword_label\" : \"Borrowed from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"mist, air\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"morning mist\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"dawn\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"dawn\", \"children\" : [ ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*h₂ews-\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" }, { \"children\" : [ ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*-r\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"is_group\" : true, \"keyword\" : \"affix\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*h₂ewsér\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"inline\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Hellenic\", \"term\" : \"*auhḗr\", \"lang\" : \"grk-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Ancient Greek\", \"term\" : \"ᾱ̓ήρ\", \"gloss\" : \"air\", \"lang\" : \"grc\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"bor\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Latin\", \"term\" : \"āēr\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"la\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Old French\", \"term\" : \"air\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"fro\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"bor\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Middle English\", \"term\" : \"aire\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"enm\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"air\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }, { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"way\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"keyword_abbrev\" : \"der.\", \"keyword_label\" : \"Derived from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*weǵʰ-\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"derived\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*wegaz\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"gem-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-West Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*weg\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"gmw-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Old English\", \"term\" : \"weġ\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"ang\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Middle English\", \"term\" : \"wey\", \"lang\" : \"enm\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"way\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"en\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"is_group\" : true, \"keyword\" : \"affix\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"airway\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }\" data-lang=\"en\" data-title=\"airway\">\nFrom air + way."
    },
    {
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      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":af",
        "3": "air",
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        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *h₂ews-\nProto-Indo-European *-r\nProto-Indo-European *h₂ewsér\nProto-Hellenic *auhḗr\nAncient Greek ᾱ̓ήρ (āḗr)bor.\nLatin āēr\nOld French airbor.\nMiddle English aire\nEnglish air\nProto-Indo-European *weǵʰ-der.\nProto-Germanic *wegaz\nProto-West Germanic *weg\nOld English weġ\nMiddle English wey\nEnglish way\nEnglish airway\nFrom air + way."
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "*h₂ews-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂ews-#Proto-Indo-European:_dawn"
    ],
    [
      "*-r",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/-r"
    ],
    [
      "*h₂ewsér",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂ewsér#Proto-Indo-European:_dawn"
    ],
    [
      "*auhḗr",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Hellenic/auhḗr#Proto-Hellenic:_morning_mist"
    ],
    [
      "ᾱ̓ήρ",
      "ἀήρ#Ancient_Greek:_mist,_air"
    ],
    [
      "āēr",
      "aer#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "air",
      "air#Old_French"
    ],
    [
      "aire",
      "aire#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "air",
      "air#English"
    ],
    [
      "*weǵʰ-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/weǵʰ-"
    ],
    [
      "*wegaz",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/wegaz"
    ],
    [
      "*weg",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/weg"
    ],
    [
      "weġ",
      "weg#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "wey",
      "wey#Middle_English:_way"
    ],
    [
      "way",
      "way#English"
    ],
    [
      "air",
      "air#English"
    ],
    [
      "way",
      "way#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "The trachea.",
        "The trachea and bronchial tree.",
        "A flight path used by aeroplanes.",
        "A roadway used for ventilation."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "in-plural"
      ],
      "recordId": "007832f4598e88546b8020486b175f7b38ad12b020b577629b98d50e0ec2b895",
      "rawRecordSha256": "2548e2a26cfa0377410b53c043c4f5d2a6f59d59e175305a93b4aee29d92e578",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 370142
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for airway →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-YWlyd2F5