1852, "shed for carriages," from French hangar "shed," probably from Middle French hanghart (14c.), perhaps an alteration of Middle Dutch *ham-gaerd "enclosure near a house" [Barnhart], or from Medieval Latin angarium "shed in which horses are shod" [Gamillscheg, Klein]. Sense of "covered shed for airplanes" first recorded in English 1902, from French use in that sense.