Scaphander

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Mr. de la Chapelle thorough and complete instruction on how to manufacture and use the newly invented swim dress or the so-called scaphander according to unmistakable principles , Warsaw and Dresden 1776
Fold-out panel depicting the “scaphander” invented by La Chapelle.

Skaphander ( m , pronunciation Ska | fan | der ) is an outdated term for a diving suit or a protective suit for extreme pressure conditions (e.g. for space travelers).

etymology

The word Skaphander is a made-up word composed of the Greek  σκαφη skaphe (boat) and the Greek  ανηρ , genitive ανδρος andros (man). The word creation goes back to the French inventor Jean-Baptiste de La Chapelle . In 1765 and 1772, he discussed an invention he called Scaphandre , which would help non-swimmers move across water. The invention was concerned with a kind of life jacket made of cork for floating upright in the water combined with swimming trunks for treading water, so it had nothing to do with diving for the time being. With the approval of the Académie française , he described his invention in 1775 in the treatise "Traité de la construction théorique et pratique du scaphandre ou du bateau de l'homme" ( treatise on the theoretical and practical structure of the scaphander or on the human boat ), the 1776 was translated into German and in 1777 into Dutch. The translations took over the word (German 1776: Scaphander ).

Change of meaning

In 1855 the Frenchman Joseph-Martin Cabirol presented a hose -supplied helmet diving device with an expansion tank on the diver's back, which he called "Scaphandre". It can be assumed that this name is borrowed from the font of his compatriot de La Chapelle. The device had quite a success (among other things, the French Navy equipped itself with it).

The use of proper names as generic names is a common phenomenon (think, for example, of Tempo for paper tissues or eagle owl for adhesives). Accordingly, "Skaphander" became a collective term in German for heavy diving equipment from helmet diving equipment to armored diving suits . While the term in German with this meaning gradually disappeared from the beginning of the second half of the 20th century at the latest, in other languages ​​it continues to refer to diving suits or devices or similar protective suits. In France, for example, scaphandre is the general name for recreational diving equipment, as well as for neoprene and space suits . Scaphandre autonomous refers to the regulator in the broadest sense . The recreational diver is known as a scaphandrier .

A development independent of the West took the word in GDR language usage . Here the Russian word скафандр (Skafander, Skaphander) for the space suit of the cosmonauts was borrowed from Russian. The Russian word also goes back to the French scaphandre .

literature

  • Jean-Baptiste de La Chapelle : Traité de la construction théorique et pratique du scaphandre ou du bateau de l'homme. Paris 1775. Full text in Google Book Search
    • Mr. de la Chapelle thorough and complete instruction on how one should manufacture and use his newly invented swimming gown or the so-called scaphander according to unmistakable principles: in order not only to be completely safe from drowning in all kinds of waters by means of this; but also to be able to move freely from one place after another in the water without ever having learned to swim; From the royal. Academie der Wissenschaften zu Paris examined and made public with the same permission , Warsaw and Dresden 1776. Full text in the Google book search
    • De Scaphander: Of de Konst om in de diepste Wateren dryvende te gaan en all handicrafts te verrigt. Amsterdam 1777
    • New edition: Traité de la construction théorique et pratique du scaphandre ou bateau de l'homme… by M. de La Chapelle. Nouvelle édition… Précédé du Projet de formation d'une légion nautique ou d'éclaireurs des côtes, destinée à opérer tels débarquemens qu'on avisera sans le secours de vaisseaux… par… La Reynie… [Jean-Baptiste-Marie-Louis de La Reynie de La Bruyère] , Paris, at XIII (1805)
  • Joseph-Martin Cabirol : Scaphandre. Appareil de plongeur . Paris, Aubusson et Kugelmann, no year [1855]. 16 p. With 6 plates
  • Hermann Stelzner: diving technology. Lübeck 1943

Web links

supporting documents

  1. ↑ Skaphander at duden online
  2. ↑ scaphandre at cnrtl online (French)
  3. ↑ Jean-Baptiste de La Chapelle: Lettre VI In: l'Année littéraire , Amsterdam 1765, Volume 7, pp. 139-144. Full text in Google Book Search
  4. ^ Jean-Baptiste de La Chapelle: Le Ventriloque , Part 1, London 1772, pp. 21–30. Full text in Google Book Search
  5. ↑ Martin Lehnert: Anglo-American in language use of the GDR , Akademie-Verlag 1990, pp. 160f.

See also