astronautics
|as-tro-nau-tics|
🇺🇸
/ˌæs.trəˈnɑː.tɪks/
🇬🇧
/ˌæs.trəˈnɔː.tɪks/
science/engineering of space travel
Etymology
'astronautics' originates from New Latin/French, ultimately built from Greek elements: 'astron' meaning 'star' and 'nautēs' meaning 'sailor', with the English suffix '-ics' for a field of study.
'astronautics' was formed in Modern European languages (compare French 'astronautique') in the late 19th / early 20th century and then adopted into English as 'astronautics' as the study and practice of space travel.
Initially it carried the sense of 'navigation or voyaging among the stars'; over time it evolved to mean the modern scientific and engineering field concerned with space travel and spacecraft.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
the science and technology of travel and operation in outer space, especially the design, development, and operation of spacecraft and related systems.
She studied astronautics to work on spacecraft design.
Synonyms
Noun 2
the engineering discipline concerned with practical aspects of manned and unmanned spaceflight (often used interchangeably with 'aerospace engineering' in some contexts).
Advances in materials have expanded the possibilities of modern astronautics.
Synonyms
Last updated: 2025/11/08 12:48