mid-14c., pelot, "any little ball," as of a medicine or food, but especially a little metallic ball used as a missile, from Old French pelote "small ball" (11c.) and directly from Medieval Latin pelotis, from Vulgar Latin *pilotta, diminutive of Latin pila "ball, playing ball, the game of ball," perhaps originally "ball of hair," from pilus "hair" (see pile (n.3)).
"craft or vessel which navigates through the air," 1850, air-craft, in the writings of John Wise, originally in reference to balloons, from air (n.1) + craft (n.). An image from boating, as were many early aviation words. Of airplanes from 1907 and since 1930s exclusively of them. Aircraft carrier is attested from 1919, in reference to H.M.S. Hermes, launched September 1919, the first ship built from the hull up as an aircraft carrier.
"accumulation; ball," 1620s, from Latin glomerationem (nominative glomeratio), noun of action from past-participle stem of glomerare "to wind or form into a ball, roll together, collect," from glomus "ball of yarn, ball-shaped mass," from Proto-Italic *glemos-, from PIE *glem- or *glom-, perhaps originally "ball," but the reconstruction is uncertain (see glebe).
1774, "action of collecting in a mass," from Latin agglomerationem (nominative agglomeratio), noun of action from past-participle stem of agglomerare "to wind or add onto a ball," from ad "to" (see ad-) + glomerare "wind up in a ball," from glomus (genitive glomeris) "ball, ball of yarn, ball-shaped mass," which is of uncertain origin (see glebe). In reference to a mass so formed, it is recorded from 1833.
