whirlybirdn.
/ˈwəːlɪbəːd/, U.S. /ˈ(h)wərliˌbərd/ slang (originally U.S.).
A helicopter.
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society > travel > air or space travel > a means of conveyance through the air > rotary wing aircraft > [noun] > helicopter or gyrocopter
helicopter1861
automotive1865
gyroplane1907
gyropter1908
gyrocopter1915
egg-beater1937
mixmaster1946
'copter1947
chopper1951
whirlybird1951
1951 Air Facts 1 July 30/1 The biggest untold story out of Korea is of a few score unarmed American helicopters and a handful of pilots who have flown themselves and their ‘whirlybirds’ into military history.
1959 Sunday Times 26 Apr. 31/4 The noise which piston-engined ‘whirly-birds’ inevitably make causes no nuisance to workers in London.
1983 Chicago Sun-Times 28 July 82/1 The Bellwood-based whirlybird company has asked Civil Aeronautics Board approval to operate regularly scheduled flights.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1986; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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n.1951