Welcome back to our Word of the Week!

Every week, we look together at a word that is either interesting, funny or mysterious and that appeals to all of us in the aviation community.

After all our water-related words, we’ll now take a look at something that shelters you from the wind: a windshield.

windshield (n.)

UK / ˈwɪndʃiːld / US / ˈwɪndˌʃild /

The windshield, or windscreen is a transparent (usually glass) screen above the dashboard of a car, and by extension the “window(s)” at the front end of any vehicle or vessel.

The word ‘shield’ has a rather old meaning, i.e. a large, flat object that soldiers hold in front of their bodies to protect themselves, as in a a broad piece of metal, wood or other material carried as a protection against weapons.

The meaning was then extended to something or someone that protects, in general.

So, we can easily infer from there that a windshield is the element that protects you from the wind, or… well, other things that you may encounter on the way!

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