"Taking Off" versus "Departing"

When listening to the radio, whether at an uncontrolled airport or at a towered airport, it is important to differentiate between the terms "taking off" and "departing" because they do not necessarily mean the same thing. Sure, when someone is taking off, they are technically departing, but think about some of the other times that the term "departing" may be used on the radio:

• ​When we announce that we are departing the area, i.e. to the East or West
• When we announce our take off and mention our direction of departure
• When ATC announces an airplane's departure from the area, or the direction of their flight away from the airport
• When an aircraft position is given with reference to the "departure end of the runway"

Further, if we were to receive a broken radio transmission, we might only hear the term "departure" or "departing" and we wouldn't know exactly what it meant. In contrast, if we ever hear the phrase "taking off," we know exactly what that means. That phrase should capture the attention of any pilot, because it affects everyone. "Taking off" means that an airplane is entering the runway and will begin to accelerate to the point where it can lift off and fly. This is of importance to pilots on the ground who may need to cross an active runway, or potentially someone who may currently be on the runway (in which case they would need to quickly announce that the runway is still occupied). This is also of importance to airplanes planning to land because they know that the runway will be occupied for a few moments by an airplane that is taking off. The airplane that is taking off may also have plans to remain in the pattern, so other aircraft will want to begin looking out for them.

Think about it this way: we never hear pilots talking about how they are "arriving" on a runway when landing. They explicitly say "landing," so why would we use the term "departing" when the phrase "taking off" is much more appropriate and precise?