- Mathematics. A surface containing all the straight lines that connect any two points on it.
- A flat or level surface.
- A level of development, existence, or achievement: scholarship on a high plane.
- An airplane or hydroplane.
- A supporting surface of an airplane; an airfoil or wing.
- Mathematics. Of or being a figure lying in a plane: a plane curve.
- Flat; level. See synonyms at level.
[Latin plānum, flat surface, from neuter of plānus, flat. N., sense 4, short for AEROPLANE.]
planeness plane'ness n.WORD HISTORY The plane in which we fly is properly named for a very important element of its structure-the wing that keeps it in the air. But the story behind this name is slightly complicated. To begin with, plane in the sense of "winged vehicle," first recorded in April 1908, is a shortened form of aeroplane. In June of that year plane appeared in a quotation from the London Times that mentioned one of the Wright brothers. Aeroplane, first recorded in 1866, is made up of the prefix aero-, "air, aviation," and the word plane, referring to the structure designed to keep an air vehicle aloft. Originally the plane in such contexts was imagined as flat, hence the choice of the word plane; in practice this surface must curve slightly in order to work. The word aeroplane for the vehicle is first found in 1873. The first recorded appearance of the form airplane in our current sense, which uses air- instead of aero-, is found in 1907. An American flies in an airplane while a Briton still travels in an aeroplane, but both can catch a plane.
plane2 (plān)
n.
- A carpenter's tool with an adjustable blade for smoothing and leveling wood.
- A trowel-shaped tool for smoothing the surface of clay, sand, or plaster in a mold.
v., planed, plan·ing, planes. v.tr.
- To smooth or finish with or as if with a plane.
- To remove with a plane: plane off the rough edges on a board.
- To work with a plane.
- To act as a plane.
[Middle English, from Old French, from Late Latin plāna, from plānāre, to plane, from plānus, flat.]
plane3 (plān)
intr.v., planed, plan·ing, planes.
- To rise partly out of the water, as a hydroplane does at high speeds.
- To soar or glide.
- To travel by airplane.
[Middle English planen, to glide, soar, from Old French planer, from plain, flat, level. See plain.]
plane4 (plān)
n.
The plane tree.
[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin platanus, from Greek platanos, perhaps from platus, broad.]
