hoverboard

English

WOTD – 21 October 2015
An artist's impression of the hoverboard from the 1989 film Back to the Future Part II
A hoverboard scooter

Alternative forms

Etymology

Etymology tree
English hover
Proto-Germanic *burdą
Proto-West Germanic *bord
Old English bord
Middle English bord
English board
English hoverboard

    From hover + board.

    First attested in 1967 in the science fiction novel The Hole in the Zero by M. K. Joseph, and popularised by the 1989 film Back to the Future Part II.

    Pronunciation

    • (UK) enPR: ʹhŏvərbôrd, IPA(key): /ˈhɒvəbɔɹd/
    • (US) enPR: ʹhŭvər'bôrd, IPA(key): /ˈhʌvɚbɔɹd/
    • Audio (Australia):(file)

    Noun

    hoverboard (plural hoverboards)

    1. (chiefly science fiction) A levitating board that can be ridden in the manner of a surfboard or skateboard.
      • 1967, M. K. Joseph, The Hole in the Zero, page 56:
        He chattered on about girls and riverside dancehalls and hoverboard skating, and seemed to look with pleasure on Paradine, who was smugly daydreaming about the report which would be lying on Number One’s desk after lunch.
    2. A small self-balancing two-wheeled motorised vehicle, related to a scooter.
      • 2022 December 14, “Network News: News in Brief: Northern e-scooter ban”, in RAIL, number 972, page 25:
        Northern introduced a ban on e-scooters, hoverboards and e-skateboards on all its stations and trains from December 1, because of a fire risk. Electric wheelchairs and bikes are exempt.

    Derived terms

    Translations

    Verb

    hoverboard (third-person singular simple present hoverboards, present participle hoverboarding, simple past and past participle hoverboarded)

    1. (chiefly science fiction) To travel by hoverboard.

    Quotations

    • For quotations using this term, see Citations:hoverboard.

    Translations

    This page is issued from Wiktionary. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.