blimp

blimp
\ \ [20] The original blimp was a sort of small non-rigid military airship used in World War I.
\ \ Its name is said to have come from its official designation as ‘type B (limp)’ (as opposed to ‘type A (rigid)’). Its rotund flaccidity suggested it in 1934 to the cartoonist David Low (1891– 1963) as a name for a character he had invented, a fat pompous ex-army officer (in full, Colonel Blimp) who was always cholerically airing reactionary views. The British public evidently recognized the character as an all too common type, and his name became a generic one, to the extent of inspiring spin-offs such as blimpish.

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

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  • Blimp — est un terme anglo américain désignant un ballon dirigeable souple (par opposition à rigide). Blimp américain durant la Seconde Guerre mondiale Le terme blimp serait onomatopéique, le son que fait l aéronef quand on frappe l enveloppe du ballon… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • blimp — s.n. (cin.) Carcasă insonoră în care se introduce aparatul de filmat, în cazul filmărilor cu priză directă de sunet. – Din engl. blimp. Trimis de paula, 20.08.2002. Sursa: DEX 98  blimp s. n. Trimis de siveco, 10.08.2004. Sursa: Dicţionar… …   Dicționar Român

  • Blimp — n. [from Colonel Blimp, a fictional character] any elderly pompous reactionary. Syn: Colonel Blimp. [WordNet 1.5] 2. a small nonrigid airship used for observation or as a barrage balloon. Syn: sausage balloon, sausage. [WordNet 1.5] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Blimp — /blimp/, (sometimes l.c.) See Colonel Blimp. [1930 35] * * * ▪ aircraft  nonrigid or semirigid airship dependent on internal gas pressure to maintain its form. The origin of the name blimp is uncertain, but the most common explanation is that it… …   Universalium

  • blimp — /blimp/, n. 1. a small, nonrigid airship or dirigible, esp. one used chiefly for observation. 2. Slang. a fat person. [1915 20; of uncert. orig.] * * * ▪ aircraft  nonrigid or semirigid airship dependent on internal gas pressure to maintain its… …   Universalium

  • Blimp — also .Colonel Blimp n BrE [Date: 1900 2000; Origin: Colonel Blimp, a cartoon character invented by David Low] someone, especially an old man, with old fashioned political ideas used to show disapproval >Blimpish adj …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • blimp — blimp; blimp·ish; blimp·ish·ly; …   English syllables

  • blimp — [blimp] n. [echoic of sound caused by thumping the airship bag with a finger: prob. coined (1915) by A. D. Cunningham, Brit Navy Air Force] Informal 1. a nonrigid or semirigid airship 2. [after Col. Blimp, creation of LOW Sir David] a pompous,… …   English World dictionary

  • blimp — [blımp] n [Date: 1900 2000; Origin: Perhaps from Type B limp , official name given to an airship without an inner frame] 1.) a small ↑airship (=type of aircraft without wings) 2.) AmE spoken not polite an offensive word for a very fat person …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • Blimp — der; s, s <aus gleichbed. engl. blimp>: 1. in den USA Bez. für ein unstarres Kleinluftschiff, das bes. in der Luftwerbung u. für militärische Beobachtungszwecke verwendet wird. 2. Schallschutzgehäuse für eine Kamera [zur Dämpfung der… …   Das große Fremdwörterbuch

  • blimp — [ blımp ] noun count a type of AIRSHIP …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

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