blimp 1916 -- (David Shulman has 1915)

[george.sand]

Joe Hajak who piloted the Goodyear airship for a number of years, mentioned to me also that "b-limp" was a traditional though not certain etymology. He seemed to consider it as belonging to folkways.

Paul Kusinitz
Newport RI
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Dave Hause 
  To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU 
  Sent: Thursday, January 16, 2003 9:46 PM
  Subject: Re: blimp 1916 -- (David Shulman has 1915)


  I'm afraid this is folk etymology, but the derivation I remember
  (unattested) is that early lighter-than-air craft were either rigid, such as
  the infamous Hindenburg, or "limp" and that the version adopted was the
  model B, hence, Blimp.
  Dave Hause, dwhause at jobe.net
  Ft. Leonard Wood, MO

  ----- Original Message -----
  From: "Gerald Cohen" <gcohen at UMR.EDU>


  On 15 Jan. 2003 Barry Popik wrote:
  >BLIMP