The word is Zeppelin (always with a capital letter) and is the title of Ferdinand Graf von Zeppelin - which is German and means Ferdinand Count of Zeppelin. So Zeppelin is the name of a small county in Germany in the early 19th century.
After observing field balloons during the American Civil War he returned to Germany and tried to interest the German High Command about them. He eventually upset several people and resigned his commission and turned his hand to designing rigid airships. Airships of this type manufactured by the Zeppelin company (it still exists) are called Zeppelins. Some people also use the word (wrongly) to mean any form of airship.
Click to our web-site
www.airship-association.org and then click on our Links Page to see a list of airship companies around the world.
You can select Zeppelin from amongst the manufacturers or DZR (Deutsche Zeppelin Reederei - which means German Zeppelin Airline) from amongst the Airship Operators. From amongst the Airship History lists you can also click Zeppelin Museum where there are many pages in English.
To continue an interest in modern airship development you can join the Airship Association and receive our quarterly journal by airmail.
I hope that helps.
Michael E. Rentell Secretary - The Airship Association
www.airship-association.org
