Zep·pe·lin 
(zĕpə-lĭn, zĕplĭn, tsĕp′ə-lēn), Count Ferdinand von 1838-1917.
(zĕpə-lĭn, zĕplĭn, tsĕp′ə-lēn), Count Ferdinand von 1838-1917. German inventor who designed and manufactured the first motorized, rigid-frame dirigible balloon (1900).