eggbeater
UK[ˈɛɡˌbiːtə]US[ˈɛɡˌbiːtər]
n
A kitchen utensil with rotating blades used for beating eggs or mixing liquids.
n
(informal) A helicopter.
Morpheme Breakdown
egg
beater
egg
beater
Etymology
The word 'eggbeater' is a transparent Modern English compound, formed by directly combining two native elements. The first element, 'egg', entered English from Old Norse 'egg' during the Viking Age, supplanting the native Old English term 'æg'. The second element, 'beater', derives from the Old English verb 'bēatan', meaning to strike or hit repeatedly, with the agent suffix '-er' indicating a person or tool that performs the action. The compound's logic is perfectly literal: a tool that beats eggs. Its informal application to a helicopter, originating in the mid-20th century, is a vivid metaphorical extension based on the visual and auditory resemblance of the rotating rotor blades to the whirring action of the kitchen tool.
Analysis
Structure: egg + beater
egg: (Old Norse, via Middle English) The reproductive body produced by birds and other animals; functions as the core noun denoting the object of the action.
beater: (Old English, via Middle English) One who or that which beats; an agent noun derived from the verb 'beat', functioning as the agent/instrument performing the action.
Examples
She used a stainless steel eggbeater to whip the cream for the dessert.
The old recipe specifically calls for an eggbeater, not an electric mixer, to achieve the right texture.
From the ground, the distant eggbeater chattered its way across the sky.