Vol. 10 · Portmanteaus ·Mid-century: TV and science ·1941
Contrail
condensation trail
- Meaning
- The white vapour trail left by a high-flying aircraft.
- Source words
- condensation + trail
- Coined by
- US Army Air Forces
- Year
- 1941
Background
Military usage abbreviated *condensation trail* to *contrail* for brevity in bomber-formation reports. The word became essential for WWII bomber crews: contrails gave away their position to enemy fighters from miles off.
Mid-century: TV and science
Two engines dominated: television (sitcom, televangelist) and post-war big science (pulsar, transistor). Many mid-century coinages came from scientific style sheets and industry journals.
Two words, one coinage.
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