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empennage

noun
em·​pen·​nage | \ ˌäm-pÉ™-ˈnäzh How to pronounce empennage (audio) , ËŒem-\

Definition of empennage

: the tail assembly of an aircraft

Examples of empennage in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

 The fuselage has been slightly widened behind the wing to keep airflow attached to the empennage (that is, the collective tail assembly). — Eric Tegler, Ars Technica, "400mph, 50 feet up—what it takes to race and win world’s fastest motorsport," 30 Aug. 2018 What America got with the A-10 was a single-seat, low-wing, straight-wing aircraft with two non-afterburning turbofan engines mounted high—behind the wing and in front of an empennage with twin vertical stabilizers. — Eric Tegler, Popular Mechanics, "Why the A-10 Warthog Is Such a Badass Plane," 19 Nov. 2016

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'empennage.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of empennage

1908, in the meaning defined above

History and Etymology for empennage

French, feathers of an arrow, empennage, from empenner to feather an arrow, from em- en- entry 1 + penne feather, from Middle French — more at pen

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Rhyming Dictionary: Words that rhyme with empennage

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