Elevon

This word is not misspelled, and neither is “ailavator”

B, L, N, O, T, V, and center E (all words must include E)

Silly little dictionary! Don’t you know that elevon can’t possibly be a word if the New York Times says it ain’t?

The biplane in the photo at the top of the article does not have an elevon. Nor does it have an ailavator (because they’re the same thing). So why did I pick that image? Well, I liked it, for one. It struck my fancy and struck it hard. Also, it does contain the predecessors of the elevon.

Namely, the aileron and the elevator. See below:

The aileron is located between the two wings, while the elevator is located at the tail. Both are illustrated as thick, tapering lines because you are viewing them from the side, not the top. (Don’t confuse the elevator with the rudder right above it.) Also, please note that there are ailerons and elevators on both sides of the plane.

The word elevon is a portmanteau, or, as the dictionary explains: “a word or morpheme whose form and meaning are derived from a blending of two or more distinct forms” The classic example is the well-known term for urban pollution, smog, a portmanteau made from smoke and fog.

So, when you combine elevator and aileron, you get elevon, a word whose recorded usage goes back to World War II. Conversely, if you combine aileron and…

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