nonpneumatic
|non-pneu-mat-ic|
🇺🇸
/ˌnɑn.nuːˈmætɪk/
🇬🇧
/ˌnɒn.pnjuːˈmætɪk/
without air / not air-powered
Etymology
'nonpneumatic' originates from English, formed by the prefix 'non-' + the adjective 'pneumatic', where 'non-' meant 'not' and 'pneumatic' ultimately comes from Greek 'pneuma' meaning 'breath' or 'wind'.
'pneumatic' came from Greek 'pneumatikos' and Latin 'pneumaticus', passed into French as 'pneumatique' and then into English as 'pneumatic'; the productive prefix 'non-' (meaning 'not') was attached in English to create 'nonpneumatic'.
Initially 'pneumatic' related to 'breath' or 'wind' (from Greek), and later came to mean 'operated by or containing compressed air'; 'nonpneumatic' therefore came to mean 'not operated by or not containing compressed air' or more generally 'not air-filled'.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Adjective 1
not pneumatic; not filled with or relying on compressed air — often used of tires or other items that are 'airless' or solid rather than inflated.
The company developed a nonpneumatic tire that cannot be punctured.
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Adjective 2
not operated by or using compressed air — applied to tools or systems that do not rely on pneumatic power.
The workshop switched to nonpneumatic tools that run on electricity instead of compressed air.
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Last updated: 2025/12/08 21:07