wingspan
Meaning
the distance from the end of one wing to the end of the other wing when they are fully stretched out
the measurement of the length of an aircraft's wings from one end to the other
Structure
Usage
the albatross has an impressive wingspan of over three meters.
engineers calculated the wingspan of the new prototype to optimize its lift.
the museum display highlighted the dinosaur's estimated wingspan based on fossil evidence.
Etymology
The word "wingspan" is a transparent compound formed from two native English elements. "wing" originates from the Old English wenge, a term for the limb used in flight, tracing back to Proto-Germanic. "span" comes from Old English spann, originally referring to the distance measured by a spread hand, a concept of linear extent. When combined, these morphemes logically create a term that denotes the total linear distance between the extremities of two fully extended wings, a measurement first applied to birds and later extended to aircraft and other winged structures.
Analysis
wing: from old english wenge (wing), of germanic origin; the body part of a bird, bat, or insect used for flying. span: from old english spann (distance between the tips of the thumb and little finger), of germanic origin; a full extent from end to end.