- aer|i|al
- aer|i|al « noun. AIR ee uhl; adjective. AIR ee uhl, ay IHR-», noun, adjective.–noun.1. a long wire or set of wires or rods used in radio, television, and radar for sending out or receiving electromagnetic waves; antenna.2. American Football. a forward pass: »
Jerry Harper hit Johnny Bell with an aerial good for 50 yards and a score (New York Times).
3. an acrobatic move, such as a somersault or twist, performed while leaping or soaring: »Jordy Smith of South Africa is in the vanguard of surfers doing aerials and other maneuvers once suppressed in competition (New York Times).
╂[< adjective]–adjective.1. a) of or for aircraft; having to do with aviation in any way: »an aerial ferry.
b) carried out by or seen from aircraft: »aerial farming, aerial spraying, an aerial view of the city.
2. living in the air: a) growing in the air instead of in soil: »The banyan tree has aerial roots.
b) floating or flying in the air: »Petrels are the most aerial and oceanic of birds (Charles Darwin).
5. a) as light as air; ethereal: »sweet, faint, aerial music.
SYNONYM(S): delicate. b) as thin as air; unsubstantial; imaginary: »aerial beings,
»fine and aerial distinctions.
SYNONYM(S): immaterial.6. Archaic. consisting of air; gaseous.╂[< Latin āerius (< Greek āérios) + English -al 1]–aer´i|al|ly, adverb.–aer´i|al|ness, noun.Usage aerial. The pronunciation in four syllables, ay IHR ee uhl, is often made necessary by the meter in reading poetry and is still the preferred pronunciation in the more literary uses of the word: »moving with aerial grace.
In the more common senses (»aerial warfare
) pronunciation with three syllables is established and natural. See air for another usage note. (Cf. ↑air)
Useful english dictionary. 2012.
