helicopteron
A flying machine having an aerial screw propeller.
historical
Prof. Alfred M. Mayer, of the Stevens Institute of Technology, in the Journal of the Franklin Institute for March, gives a paper on flying-machines and [Alphonse] Pénaud’s artificial bird, for the invention of which the Academy of Sciences awarded awarded M. Pénaud a prize in June last. In this paper he describes some “helicopterons,” or aërial screw-propellers, which have been successful in raising themselves in flight.
Where it comes from
From Ancient Greek ἕλῐξ (hélĭx, “spiral”) + πτερόν (pterón, “wing”). Doublet of helicopter.
Adapted from the Wiktionary entry helicopteron (CC BY-SA 4.0).