Dictionary:

wing

  (wĭng)

1. One of a pair of movable organs for flying, as the feather-covered modified forelimb of a bird or the skin-covered modified digits of the forelimb of a bat.
2. Any of usually four membranous organs for flying that extend from the thorax of an insect.
3. A winglike organ or structure used for flying, as the folds of skin of a flying squirrel or the enlarged pectoral fin of a flying fish.
4. Botany.
   1. A thin or membranous extension, such as of the fruit of the elm, maple, or ash or of the seed of the pine.
   2. One of the lateral petals of the flower of a pea or of most plants in the pea family.
5. Informal. An arm of a human.
6. An airfoil whose principal function is providing lift, especially either of two such airfoils symmetrically positioned on each side of the fuselage of an aircraft.
7. Something that resembles a wing in appearance, function, or position relative to a main body.
8. 1. The act or manner of flying.
   2. A means of flight or rapid movement: Fear lent wings to his feet.
9. 1. Something, such as a weathervane, that is moved by or moves against the air.
   2. The sail of a ship.
10. Chiefly British. The fender of a motor vehicle.
11. A folding section, as of a double door or of a movable partition.
12. Either of the two side projections on the back of a wing chair.
13. 1. A flat of theatrical scenery projecting onto the stage from the side.
    2. wings The unseen backstage area on either side of the stage of a proscenium theater.
14. A structure attached to and connected internally with the side of a main building.
15. A section of a large building devoted to a specific purpose: the children's wing of the hospital.
16. A group affiliated with or subordinate to an older or larger organization.
17. 1. Either of two groups with opposing views within a larger group; a faction.
    2. A section of a party, legislature, or community holding distinct, especially dissenting, political views: the conservative wing.
18. 1. Either the left or right flank of an army or a naval fleet.
    2. An air force unit larger than a group but smaller than a division.
19. Sports.
    1. Either of the forward positions played near the sideline, especially in hockey.
    2. A player who plays such a position.
20. wings An outspread pair of stylized bird's wings worn as insignia by qualified pilots or air crew members.

To move on or as if on wings; fly.

1. 1. To furnish with wings.
   2. To cause or enable to fly or speed swiftly along.
2. To feather (an arrow).
3. 1. To pass over or through with or as if with wings.
   2. To carry or transport by or as if by flying.
   3. To effect or accomplish by flying.
4. To throw or dispatch (a ball, for example).
5. 1. To wound the wing of (a game bird, for example).
   2. To wound superficially, as in an appendage.
6. To furnish with side or subordinate extensions, as a building or an altarpiece.

in the wings

1. In the stage wings, unseen by the audience.
2. Close by in the background; available at short notice: a presidential candidate waiting in the wings.

1. In flight; flying.

1. To fly off; soar away.

1. Under one's protection; in one's care.

1. To say or do something without preparation, forethought, or sufficient information or experience; improvise: She hadn't studied for the exam, so she decided to wing it.

[Middle English wenge, winge, of Scandinavian origin.]

noun

1. A part added to a main structure: annex, arm, extension. See part/whole.
2. A component of government that performs a given function: agency, arm, branch, department, division, organ. See part/whole.

verb

1. To move through the air with or as if with wings: flap, flit, flitter, flutter, fly, sail. See move/halt.
2. To move swiftly: bolt, bucket, bustle, dart, dash, festinate, flash, fleet, flit, fly, haste, hasten, hurry, hustle, pelt², race, rocket, run, rush, sail, scoot, scour², shoot, speed, sprint, tear¹, trot, whirl, whisk, whiz, zip, zoom. Informal hotfoot, rip. Slang barrel, highball. Chiefly British nip¹. Idioms: get a move on, get cracking, go like lightning, go like the wind, hotfoot it, make haste, make time, make tracks, run like the wind, shake a leg, stepjumpon it. See move/halt.

Idioms beginning with wing:
wing it

In addition to the idiom beginning with wing, also see clip someone's wings; in the wings; left wing; on the wing; take flight (wing); under someone's wing.

Definition: section; extension
Antonyms: base, headquarters

n. 1. a rigid horizontal structure that projects from both sides of an aircraft and supports it in the air.

2. (wings) a pilot's certificate of ability to fly a plane, indicated by a badge representing a pair of wings.

3. a flank of a battle array.

4. an air force unit of several squadrons or groups.

See the Introduction, Abbreviations and Pronunciation for further details.

For more information on wing, visit Britannica.com.

1. A subsidiary part of a building extending out from the main portion.
2. In a theater, the offstage space at the side of the acting area.
3. One of the four leaves of a revolving door.

A modified limb suitable for generating aerodynamic lift. Wing membranes or patagia are stretched between bony elements. In birds the wing surface is increased by large flight feathers (remiges) borne on the hand (primaries) or ulna (secondaries). In bats the patagia are more extensive than in birds through enlargement of the bones of the hand.

• w. amputation — the extreme form of deflighting.
• dropped w. — a name for Salmonella typhimurium infection in young pigeons which causes arthritis in the wing.
• w. louse — lipeurus caponis.
• w. vein — cutaneous ulnar vein; on the under surface of the extended wing, the favored location for venepuncture in most avian species.

Usually Air Wing, an aviation unit equivalent to an infantry division.

(DOD) 1. An Air Force unit composed normally of one primary mission group and the necessary supporting organizations, i.e., organizations designed to render supply, maintenance, hospitalization, and other services required by the primary mission groups. Primary mission groups may be functional, such as combat, training, transport, or service. 2. A fleet air wing is the basic organizational and administrative unit for naval-, land-, and tender-based aviation. Such wings are mobile units to which are assigned aircraft squadrons and tenders for administrative organization control. 3. A balanced Marine Corps task organization of aircraft groups and squadrons, together with appropriate command, air control, administrative, service, and maintenance units. A standard Marine Corps aircraft wing contains the aviation elements normally required for the air support of a Marine division. 4. A flank unit; that part of a military force to the right or left of the main body.

A thin flat extension found at the margins of a seed or leafstalk or along a stem.

A Laughing Gull with its wings extended in a gull wing profile

Aircraft wing planform shapes: a swept wing KC-10 Extender (top) refuels a trapezoid-wing F/A-22 Raptor

A wing is a surface used to produce lift and therefore flight, for travel in the air or another gaseous medium. The wing shape is usually an airfoil. The first use of the word was for the foremost limbs of birds, but has been extended to include the wings of insects, bats and pterosaurs and also man-made devices.

A wing is a device for generating lift. Its aerodynamic quality, expressed as a Lift-to-drag ratio, can be up to 60 on some gliders. This means that a significantly smaller thrust force can be applied to propel the wing through the air in order to obtain a specified lift.

Use

A common use of wings is in flight, using forward motion to create vertical lift, but wings are also used to produce downforce. A sail boat moves by using sails and a keel like a vertical wings to produce lift (in the horizontal plane).

Artificial wings

Terms related to aircraft wings

Wing of a Boeing 737

Flaps partially deployed

Full flaps

Full flaps, with spoilers deployed.

• Leading edge: the front edge of the wing
• Trailing edge: the back edge of the wing
• Span: distance from wing tip to wing tip
• Chord: distance from wing leading edge to wing trailing edge, usually measured parallel to the long axis of the fuselage
• Aspect ratio: ratio of span to standard mean chord
• Aerofoil (or Airfoil in US English): the shape of the top and bottom surfaces when viewed as cross sections cut from leading edge to trailing edge.
• Sweep angle: the angle between the perpendicular to the design centreline of the wing in the wing plane, and either the leading edge or ¼ chord line.
• Twist: gradual change of the airfoil (aerodynamic twist) and/or angle of incidence of the wing cross-sections (geometrical twist) along the span.

Design features

Aeroplane wings may feature some of the following:

• A rounded (rarely sharp) leading edge cross-section
• A sharp trailing edge cross-section
• Leading-edge devices such as slats, slots, or extensions
• Trailing-edge devices such as flaps
• Ailerons (usually near the wingtips) to provide roll control
• Spoilers on the upper surface to disrupt lift and additional roll control
• Vortex generators to help prevent flow separation
• Wing fences to keep flow attached to the wing
• Dihedral, or a positive wing angle to the horizontal. This gives inherent stability in roll. Anhedral, or a negative wing angle to the horizontal, has a destabilising effect
• Folding wings allow more aircraft to be carried in the confined space of the hangar of an aircraft carrier.

The wings of a Boeing 737-800 equipped with performance-enhancing winglet.

The wing of a landing BMI Airbus A319-100. The slats at the leading edge and the flaps at the trailing edge are extended.

Wing types

• Swept wings are wings that are bent back at an angle, instead of sticking straight out from the fuselage.
• Forward-swept wings are bent forward, the reverse of a traditional swept wing. Forward swept wings have been used in some two seat gliders, and in the experimental X-29.
• Elliptical wings (technically wings with an elliptical lift distribution) are theoretically optimum for efficiency at subsonic speeds. A good example of this wing type can be seen on the British Supermarine Spitfire World War II fighter aircraft.
• Delta wings have reasonable performance at subsonic and supersonic speeds and are good at high angles of attack. For examples see the F-102, F-106, Avro Vulcan and B-58.
• Waveriders are efficient supersonic wings that take advantage of shock waves. For an example, see the XB-70.
• Rogallo wings are two partial cone sections arranged with the apexes together and the convex side up. One of the simplest wings to construct using cloth or other membrane material and a frame.
• Variable geometry wings (or Swing-wings) are able to move in flight to give the benefits of dihedral and delta wing. Although they were originally proposed by German aerodynamicists during the 1940s, they are now only found on military aircraft such as the Grumman F-14, Panavia Tornado, General Dynamics F-111, B-1 Lancer, Tupolev Tu-160, MiG-23 and Sukhoi Su-24.
• Ring wings are optimally loaded closed lifting surfaces with higher aerodynamic efficiency than planar wings having the same aspect-ratios. Other nonplanar wing systems display an aerodynamic efficiency intermediate between ring wings and planar wings.
• Oblique wing
• Flying wing
• Blended wing body

Science of wings

A Mute swan spreads its wings.

The science of wings is one of the principal applications of the science of aerodynamics.

In order for a wing to produce lift it has to be at a positive angle to the airflow. In that case a low pressure region is generated on the upper surface of the wing which draws the air above the wing downwards towards what would otherwise be a void after the wing had passed. On the underside of the wing a high pressure region forms accelerating the air there downwards out of the path of the oncoming wing. The pressure difference between these two regions produces an upwards force on the wing, called lift.

The pressure differences, the acceleration of the air and the lift on the wing are intrinsically one mechanism. It is therefore possible to derive the value of one by calculating another. For example lift can be calculated by reference to the pressure differences or by calculating the energy used to accelerate the air. Both approaches will result in the same answer if done correctly. Debates over which mathematical approach is the more convenient can be wrongly perceived as differences of opinion about the principles of flight and often create unnecessary confusion in the mind of the layman.

For a more detailed coverage see lift (force).

A common misconception is that it is the shape of the wing that is essential to generate lift by having a longer path on the top rather than the underside. This is not the case, thin flat wings can produce lift efficiently and aircraft with cambered wings can fly inverted as long as the nose of the aircraft is pointed high enough so as to present the wing at a positive angle of attack to the airflow.

The common aerofoil shape of wings is due to a large number of factors many of them not at all related to aerodynamic issues, for example wings need strength and thus need to be thick enough to contain structural members. They also need room to contain items such as fuel, control mechanisms and retracted undercarriage. The primary aerodynamic input to the wing’s cross sectional shape is the need to keep the air flowing smoothly over the entire surface for the most efficient operation. In particular, there is a requirement to prevent the low-pressure gradient that accelerates the air down the back of the wing becoming too great and effectively “sucking” the air off the surface of the wing. If this happens the wing surface from that point backwards becomes substantially ineffective.

The shape chosen by the designer is a compromise dependent upon the intended operational ranges of airspeed, angles of attack and wing loadings. Usually aircraft wings have devices, such as flaps, which allow the pilot to modify shape and surface area of the wing to be able to change its operating characteristics in flight.

The science of wings applies in other areas beyond conventional fixed-wing aircraft, including:

• Helicopters which use a rotating wing with a variable pitch or angle to provide a directional force

• The space shuttle which uses its wings only for lift during its descent

• Some racing cars, especially Formula One cars, which use upside-down wings to give cars greater adhesion at high speeds over 100mph.

• Sailing boats which use sails as vertical wings with variable fullness and direction to move across water.

Structures with the same purpose as wings, but designed to operate in liquid media, are generally called fins or hydroplanes, with hydrodynamics as the governing science. Applications arise in craft such as hydrofoils and submarines. Sailing boats use both fins and wings.

Animal wings

Bat wings, such as this Malayan Flying Fox, are fleshy and without feathers.

Biologists believe that animal wings evolved at least four separate times, an example of convergent evolution.

• insect wings are believed to have evolved between 300 and 400 million years ago
• pterosaur wings at least 225 million years ago
• bird wings at least 150 million years ago
• bat wings about 55 million years ago.

Wings in these groups are analogous structures because they evolved independently rather than being passed from a common ancestor.

The wings of this cockchafer are visible beneath the wing protection covers (elytra).

See also

• Flight
• Bird flight
• Pinion (feather)
• Planform
• Wings in the enneagram

External links

• Why wings generate lift
• Demystifying the Science of Flight - Audio segment on NPR's Talk of the Nation Science Friday
• NASA's explanations and simulations
• Advanced Topics in Aerodynamics Wings for all speeds
• Evolution of flight in animals
• Explanation invoking Coanda Effect

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Wing

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

Dansk (Danish)
n. - vinge, fløj, skærm, sidekulisse, wing, bæreplan, afdeling
v. intr. - flyve
v. tr. - flyve

idioms:

• in the wings    i kulissen
• on a wing and a prayer    det mindste lille håb
• on the wing    på vingerne, på flugt, under opbrud, ved at tage afsted
• take under one's wing    tage en under sine vinger
• take wing    flygte, flyve op
• wing chair    øreklapstol
• wing collar    knækflip
• wing commander    oberstløjtnant i flyvevåben
• wing it    improvisere, finde på undervejs
• wing one's way    improvisere sig igennem noget

Nederlands (Dutch)
vleugel, coulisse, bijgebouw, vleugelspeler, spatbord, stoelleuning

Français (French)
n. - (Zool) aile, aile (de voiture), oreille (de fauteuil), (Mil, Pol) aile, escadre, (Sport) allier, aile côté, (Théât) coulisses (npl), (Aviat) insigne (npl)
v. intr. - voler
v. tr. - voler vers, érafler (balle)

idioms:

• in the wings    (Théât) (attendre) dans les coulisses
• on a wing and a prayer    avec très peu de chance de succès
• on the wing    (attraper) au vol (un insecte), (être) en vol
• on wings    (se sentir) plein de joie, exalté
• take under one's wing    prendre (qn) sous son aile
• take wing    s'envoler (des pensées) (littér)
• wing chair    fauteuil à oreilles
• wing collar    col cassé
• wing commander    lieutenant-colonel de l'armée de l'air
• wing it    (US) improviser
• wing one's way    voler vers

Deutsch (German)
n. - Flügel, Kulisse, Außenstürmer, Kotflügel, Tragfläche, Geschwader
v. - fliegen, am Flügel od. Arm verwunden, mit Flügeln, Tragflächen o.ä. ausstatten

idioms:

• in the wings    handlungsbereit, auf eine Chance wartend
• on a wing and a prayer    mit nur geringen Erfolgsaussichten
• on the wing    im Fluge
• on wings    hocherfreut, in Hochstimmung sein
• take under one's wing    unter jmds. Fittiche nehmen
• take wing    auffliegen
• wing chair    Ohrensessel
• wing collar    Ecken- od. Klappenkragen
• wing commander    Geschwaderkommandeur
• wing it    improvisieren
• wing one's way    fliegen

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - φτερούγα, φτερό, (αρχιτ.) πτέρυγα (κτιρίου κ.λπ.), (στρατ.) πτέρυγα (μάχης), πολιτική παράταξη, πολιτικός χώρος, (πληθ.) παρασκήνια (θεάτρου)
v. - ίπταμαι, πετώ, τραυματίζω στα άκρα (κν. παίρνω ξώφαλτσα), (καθομ.) ταξιδεύω με αεροπλάνο

idioms:

• in the wings    στα παρασκήνια
• on a wing and a prayer    μετά φόβου Θεού, με ελάχιστες ελπίδες
• on the wing    σε πτήση (κν. στο φτερό)
• take under one's wing    παίρνω υπό την προστασία μου
• take wing    (για πουλιά) σηκώνω φτερό
• wing chair    μπερζέρα
• wing collar    πουκάμισο με ανασηκωμένο σκληρό γιακά
• wing commander    (στρατ.) (Βρετ.) αντισμήναρχος
• wing it    αυτοσχεδιάζω
• wing one's way    πηγαίνω τάχιστα (αεροπορικά)

Italiano (Italian)
ala, quinta, parafango

idioms:

• clip one's wings    tarpare le ali di
• in the wings    pronto all'azione
• on a wing and a prayer    quasi senza speranza di successo
• on the wing    in volo
• spread/stretch one's wings    stendere le ali
• take under one's wing    prendere sotto la propria protezione
• take wing    prendere volo
• wing chair    sedia con braccioli
• wing collar    colletto alto
• wing commander    comandante di squadrone
• wing it    improvvisare
• wing one's way    volarsene

Português (Portuguese)
n. - asa (f), vôo (m), meio ou instrumento de transporte (m)
v. - voar

idioms:

• clip one's wings    cortar as asas
• in the wings    oculto, disponível em breve
• on a wing and a prayer    sem muitos recursos, apenas confiança ou fé
• on the wing    durante vôo
• spread/stretch one's wings    alargar seus horizontes
• take under one's wing    estar sob proteção
• take wing    levantar vôo, voar
• wing chair    tipo de cadeira
• wing collar    gola quebrada (f)
• wing commander    tenente coronel (m)
• wing it    dizer algo sem preparação
• wing one's way    voar

Русский (Russian)
крыло, оперение стрелы, парус, рука, фланг, флигель, группировка, створка (двери), кулиса, плечики (на одежде), окрылять, подгонять, лететь, ранить в крыло, в руку, оперять (стрелу), пускать (стрелу), пристраивать крыло (к зданию)

idioms:

• clip one's wings    подрезать крылья (кому-л.)
• in the wings    за кулисами
• on a wing and a prayer    вынужденная посадка, малейшая надежда в критической ситуации
• on the wing    в полете, на ходу, в пути, в переездах с места на место
• spread/stretch one's wings    расправлять крылья, в полной мере проявить свои силы, способности
• take under one's wing    взять под крылышко
• take wing    вспорхнуть, улететь, спасаться бегством, исчезнуть
• wing chair    кресло с подголовником
• wing collar    воротник-стойка со скошенными концами
• wing commander    командир авиационного крыла
• wing it    импровизировать, действовать по наитию, скрыться, приступить к делу
• wing one's way    лететь, быстро продвигаться (к какой-л. цели)

Español (Spanish)
n. - bastidores (de teatro), ala, aleta, vuelo, escuadrilla, patilla, aspa, guardabarros
v. intr. - volar, aletear
v. tr. - dar alas a, emplumar (una flecha), agregar alas a (un edificio), atravesar volando, herir en el ala o en el brazo, herir ligeramente

idioms:

• in the wings    mantenerse al margen
• on a wing and a prayer    de milagro
• on the wing    al vuelo, volando
• on wings    en el cielo
• take under one's wing    acoger en su regazo, tomar bajo su protección
• take wing    alzar el vuelo
• wing chair    sillón de orejas
• wing collar    cuello de camisa de esmoquin o frac
• wing commander    teniente coronel (fuerza aérea), vice-comodoro
• wing it    llevar a cabo algo sin la suficiente preparación, improvisar
• wing one's way    ir volando, estar en camino

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - vinge, flygel, dörrhalva, stänkskärm, kuliss, flottilj
v. - förse med vingar, skänka vingar, flyga, vingskjuta, såra

中文（简体） (Chinese (Simplified))
翅, 翼, 翅膀, 飞, 飞行, 装以翼, 使飞, 飞过

idioms:

• in the wings    在后方, 在附近, 在舞台两侧
• on a wing and a prayer    靠运气
• on the wing    在飞行中
• take under one's wing    得到某人的照顾或资助
• take wing    起飞, 逃走
• wing chair    高背椅
• wing collar    硬翻领, 上浆翻领
• wing commander    中校, 联队长
• wing it    即兴表演
• wing one's way    飞速行进

中文（繁體） (Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 翅, 翼, 翅膀
v. intr. - 飛, 飛行
v. tr. - 裝以翼, 使飛, 飛過

idioms:

• in the wings    在後方, 在附近, 在舞臺兩側
• on a wing and a prayer    靠運氣
• on the wing    在飛行中
• take under one's wing    得到某人的照顧或資助
• take wing    起飛, 逃走
• wing chair    高背椅
• wing collar    硬翻領, 上漿翻領
• wing commander    中校, 聯隊長
• wing it    即興表演
• wing one's way    飛速行進

한국어 (Korean)
n. - (곤충 등의) 날개, (비행기 등의) 날개
v. intr. - 날다
v. tr. - ~에 날개를 달다, 신속하게 나가게 하다, 공중을 나르다

idioms:

• in the wings    무대 옆에 숨어서, 대기하고, (눈에 안 띄게) 대비하여
• take under one's wing    비호하다, 품어 기르다
• take wing    날아가다, 기세가 더하다

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 翼, そで, 党派, たもと, 飛行大隊, ウイング
v. - 翼を付ける, 飛ばす, 飛ぶ, 傷付ける, 翼を傷付ける

idioms:

• in the wings    舞台の袖に隠れて
• on a wing and a prayer    いちかばちか
• on the wing    飛んで, 旅行中で, 活動中で
• right wing    保守派, 右派, 右ウィング
• spread/stretch one's wings    翼を広げる
• take wing    飛び立つ, 逃げる
• wing chair    袖椅子
• wing collar    ウイングカラー
• wing commander    空軍中佐
• wing it    即興で演ずる
• wing one's way    飛んで行く

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) جناح, مروحه, كتف, شراع, طيران, جناح البناء (فعل) يصيب الجناح‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮כנף, יחידת-טייסות, אגף, יציע, קיצוני (כדורגל), גוף קיצוני (פוליטיקה), חלק צדדי של אבר, ברבים: צידי הבמה (שאינם גלויים לקהל), צד של מגרש-משחקים, חלק המנוע שמעל לגלגל‬
v. intr. - ‮עף, טס, הכניף, הצמיח כנפיים‬
v. tr. - ‮עף, טס, זירז, פצע בכנף, פגע בזרוע‬

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