Montgolfier n 1: French inventor who (with his brother Josef Michel Montgolfier) pioneered hot-air ballooning (1745-1799) [syn: {Montgolfier}, {Jacques Etienne Montgolfier}] 2: French inventor who (with his brother Jacques Etienne Montgolfier) pioneered hot-air ballooning (1740-1810) [syn: {Montgolfier}, {Josef Michel Montgolfier}]
Montgolfier \Mont`gol"fier\, n. A balloon which ascends by the buoyancy of air heated by a fire; a fire balloon; -- so called from two brothers, Stephen and Joseph Montgolfier, of France, who first constructed and sent up a fire balloon. [1913 Webster]