>when was "naut" first used? (as far as space travel is concerned) (emPHAsis added)

astronaut dates from the late 20s, and may have been coined by some writer of pulp SF; OED gives this as its first citation: 1929 Jrnl. Brit. Astr. Assoc. June 331 That first obstacle encountered by the would-be ‘Astronaut’, viz., terrestrial gravitation.

cosmonaut is englished Russian kosmonavt, ca. 1959

Last edited by tsuwm; 10/17/2005 10:33 PM.