Adjacent Words

Plane definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

PLANE, n. [from L. planus. See Plain.] In geometry, an even or level surface, like plain in popular language.
1. In astronomy, an imaginary surface supposed to pass through any of the curves described on the celestial sphere; as the plane of the ecliptic; the plane of a planet's orbit; the plane of a great circle.
2. In mechanics. [See Plain figure.]
3. In joinery and cabinet work, an instrument consisting of a smooth piece of wood, with an aperture, through which passes obliquely a piece of edged steel or chisel, used in paring or smoothing boards or wood of any kind.
PLANE, v.t. To make smooth; to pare off the inequalities of the surface of a board or other piece of wood by the use of a plane.
1. To free from inequalities of surface.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: having a surface without slope, tilt in which no part is higher or lower than another; "a flat desk"; "acres of level farmland"; "a plane surface"; "skirts sewn with fine flat seams" [syn: flat, level, plane] n
1: an aircraft that has a fixed wing and is powered by propellers or jets; "the flight was delayed due to trouble with the airplane" [syn: airplane, aeroplane, plane]
2: (mathematics) an unbounded two-dimensional shape; "we will refer to the plane of the graph as the X-Y plane"; "any line joining two points on a plane lies wholly on that plane" [syn: plane, sheet]
3: a level of existence or development; "he lived on a worldly plane"
4: a power tool for smoothing or shaping wood [syn: plane, planer, planing machine]
5: a carpenter's hand tool with an adjustable blade for smoothing or shaping wood; "the cabinetmaker used a plane for the finish work" [syn: plane, carpenter's plane, woodworking plane] v
1: cut or remove with or as if with a plane; "The machine shaved off fine layers from the piece of wood" [syn: plane, shave]
2: travel on the surface of water [syn: plane, skim]
3: make even or smooth, with or as with a carpenter's plane; "plane the top of the door"

Merriam Webster's

I. verb (planed; planing) Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French planer, from Late Latin planare, from Latin planus level — more at floor Date: 14th century transitive verb 1. a. to make smooth or even ; level b. to make smooth or even by use of a plane 2. to remove by or as if by planing — often used with away or off intransitive verb 1. to work with a plane 2. to do the work of a plane • planer noun II. noun Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin platanus, from Greek platanos; probably akin to Greek platys broad — more at place Date: 14th century any of a genus (Platanus of the family Platanaceae, the plane-tree family) of chiefly deciduous trees with large palmately lobed leaves, flowers in globose heads, and usually scaling bark — called also buttonwood, plane tree, sycamore III. noun Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Late Latin plana, from planare Date: 14th century a tool for smoothing or shaping a wood surface IV. noun Etymology: Latin planum, from neuter of planus level Date: 1571 1. a. a surface in which if any two points are chosen a straight line joining them lies wholly in that surface b. a flat or level surface 2. a level of existence, consciousness, or development <on the intellectual plane> 3. a. one of the main supporting surfaces of an airplane b. [by shortening] airplane V. adjective Etymology: Latin planus Date: 14th century 1. having no elevations or depressions ; flat 2. a. of, relating to, or dealing with geometric planes b. lying in a plane <a plane curve> Synonyms: see level VI. intransitive verb (planed; planing) Etymology: Middle English, from Middle French planer, from plain level, plain Date: 15th century 1. a. to fly while keeping the wings motionless b. to skim across the surface of the water 2. to travel by airplane

Oxford Reference Dictionary

1. n., adj., & v. --n. 1 a a flat surface on which a straight line joining any two points on it would wholly lie. b an imaginary flat surface through or joining etc. material objects. 2 a level surface. 3 colloq. = AEROPLANE. 4 a flat surface producing lift by the action of air or water over and under it (usu. in comb.: hydroplane). 5 (often foll. by of) a level of attainment, thought, knowledge, etc. 6 a flat thin object such as a tabletop. --adj. 1 (of a surface etc.) perfectly level. 2 (of an angle, figure, etc.) lying in a plane. --v.intr. 1 (often foll. by down) travel or glide in an aeroplane. 2 (of a speedboat etc.) skim over water. 3 soar. Phrases and idioms: plane chart a chart on which meridians and parallels of latitude are represented by equidistant straight lines, used in plane sailing. plane polarization a process restricting the vibrations of electromagnetic radiation, esp. light, to one direction. plane sailing 1 the practice of determining a ship's position on the theory that she is moving on a plane. 2 = plain sailing (see PLAIN(1)). plane-table a surveying instrument used for direct plotting in the field, with a circular drawing-board and pivoted alidade. Etymology: L planum flat surface, neut. of planus PLAIN(1) (different. f. PLAIN(1) in 17th c.): adj. after F plan, plane 2. n. & v. --n. 1 a tool consisting of a wooden or metal block with a projecting steel blade, used to smooth a wooden surface by paring shavings from it. 2 a similar tool for smoothing metal. --v.tr. 1 smooth (wood, metal, etc.) with a plane. 2 (often foll. by away, down) pare (irregularities) with a plane. 3 archaic level (plane the way). Etymology: ME f. OF var. of plaine f. LL plana f. L planus PLAIN(1) 3. n. (in full plane-tree) any tree of the genus Platanus often growing to great heights, with maple-like leaves and bark which peels in uneven patches. Etymology: ME f. OF f. L platanus f. Gk platanos f. platus broad

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Plane Plane, v. i. Of a boat, to lift more or less out of the water while in motion, after the manner of a hydroplane; to hydroplane.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Plane Plane, n. [F. plane, L. plana. See Plane, v. & a.] 1. (Geom.) A surface, real or imaginary, in which, if any two points are taken, the straight line which joins them lies wholly in that surface; or a surface, any section of which by a like surface is a straight line; a surface without curvature. 2. (Astron.) An ideal surface, conceived as coinciding with, or containing, some designated astronomical line, circle, or other curve; as, the plane of an orbit; the plane of the ecliptic, or of the equator. 3. (Mech.) A block or plate having a perfectly flat surface, used as a standard of flatness; a surface plate. 4. (Joinery) A tool for smoothing boards or other surfaces of wood, for forming moldings, etc. It consists of a smooth-soled stock, usually of wood, from the under side or face of which projects slightly the steel cutting edge of a chisel, called the iron, which inclines backward, with an apperture in front for the escape of shavings; as, the jack plane; the smoothing plane; the molding plane, etc. Objective plane (Surv.), the horizontal plane upon which the object which is to be delineated, or whose place is to be determined, is supposed to stand. Perspective plane. See Perspective. Plane at infinity (Geom.), a plane in which points infinitely distant are conceived as situated. Plane iron, the cutting chisel of a joiner's plane. Plane of polarization. (Opt.) See Polarization. Plane of projection. (a) The plane on which the projection is made, corresponding to the perspective plane in perspective; -- called also principal plane. (b) (Descriptive Geom.) One of the planes to which points are referred for the purpose of determining their relative position in space. Plane of refraction or reflection (Opt.), the plane in which lie both the incident ray and the refracted or reflected ray.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Plane Plane, a. [L. planus: cf. F. plan. See Plan, a.] Without elevations or depressions; even; level; flat; lying in, or constituting, a plane; as, a plane surface. Note: In science, this word (instead of plain) is almost exclusively used to designate a flat or level surface. Plane angle, the angle included between two straight lines in a plane. Plane chart, Plane curve. See under Chart and Curve. Plane figure, a figure all points of which lie in the same plane. If bounded by straight lines it is a rectilinear plane figure, if by curved lines it is a curvilinear plane figure. Plane geometry, that part of geometry which treats of the relations and properties of plane figures. Plane problem, a problem which can be solved geometrically by the aid of the right line and circle only. Plane sailing (Naut.), the method of computing a ship's place and course on the supposition that the earth's surface is a plane. Plane scale (Naut.), a scale for the use of navigators, on which are graduated chords, sines, tangents, secants, rhumbs, geographical miles, etc. Plane surveying, surveying in which the curvature of the earth is disregarded; ordinary field and topographical surveying of tracts of moderate extent. Plane table, an instrument used for plotting the lines of a survey on paper in the field. Plane trigonometry, the branch of trigonometry in which its principles are applied to plane triangles.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Plane Plane, n. [F., fr. L. platanus, Gr. ?, fr. ? broad; -- so called on account of its broad leaves and spreading form. See Place, and cf. Platane, Plantain the tree.] (Bot.) Any tree of the genus Platanus. Note: The Oriental plane (Platanus orientalis) is a native of Asia. It rises with a straight, smooth, branching stem to a great height, with palmated leaves, and long pendulous peduncles, sustaining several heads of small close-sitting flowers. The seeds are downy, and collected into round, rough, hard balls. The Occidental plane (Platanus occidentalis), which grows to a great height, is a native of North America, where it is popularly called sycamore, buttonwood, and buttonball, names also applied to the California species (Platanus racemosa).

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Plane Plane, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Planed; p. pr. & vb. n. Planing.] [Cf. F. planer, L. planare, fr. planus. See Plane, a., Plain, a., and cf. Planish.] 1. To make smooth; to level; to pare off the inequalities of the surface of, as of a board or other piece of wood, by the use of a plane; as, to plane a plank. 2. To efface or remove. He planed away the names . . . written on his tables. --Chaucer. 3. Figuratively, to make plain or smooth. [R.] What student came but that you planed her path. --Tennyson.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(planes, planing, planed) Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English. 1. A plane is a vehicle with wings and one or more engines, which can fly through the air. He had plenty of time to catch his plane... Her mother was killed in a plane crash. ...fighter planes. = aeroplane, airplane N-COUNT 2. A plane is a flat, level surface which may be sloping at a particular angle. ...a building with angled planes. N-COUNT 3. If a number of points are in the same plane, one line or one flat surface could pass through them all. All the planets orbit the Sun in roughly the same plane, round its equator. N-SING 4. A plane is a tool that has a flat bottom with a sharp blade in it. You move the plane over a piece of wood in order to remove thin pieces of its surface. N-COUNT 5. If you plane a piece of wood, you make it smaller or smoother by using a plane. She watches him plane the surface of a walnut board... Again I planed the surface flush. VERB: V n, V n adj 6. A plane or a plane tree is a large tree with broad leaves which often grows in towns. N-COUNT

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

plan (Isa 44:13).

See TOOLS.

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

a. Level, flat, even, smooth, plain.

Moby Thesaurus

aeroplane, aircraft, airliner, airplane, alabaster, amount, aspire, avion, beading plane, become airborne, bench plane, billiard table, block plane, bowling alley, bowling green, caliber, capping plane, claw skyward, compass, core-box plane, cut, dab, dado plane, dead flat, dead level, degree, dovetail plane, downy, drag, dress, dub, earth, edge plane, equalize, esplanade, even, extent, flat, flatland, flatten, flattened, float, floor, flush, fly, fly aloft, flying machine, fore plane, gain altitude, glabrate, glabrescent, glabrous, glass, glide, grade, grease, grooving plane, ground, hang, harrow, heavier-than-air craft, height, homaloid, homaloidal, horizontal, horizontal axis, horizontal fault, horizontal line, horizontal parallax, horizontal plane, horizontal projection, hover, ice, interval, ivory, jack plane, jet plane, jointer, kite, lay, leap, leave the ground, ledge, leiotrichous, level, level line, level plane, lubricate, mahogany, marble, mark, mean sea level, measure, mow, notch, nuance, oil, parterre, pas, peg, period, pitch, plain, planer, planing machine, planish, plaster, plateau, platform, point, poise, prairie, proportion, rabbet plane, range, ratio, reach, reed plane, regular, remove, rolled, round, routing plane, rung, sash plane, satin, scale, scope, scraper plane, scrub plane, sea level, sea of grass, shade, shadow, shave, ship, silk, skate, skid, skim, slide, slip, smooth, smooth down, smooth out, smooth-shaven, smooth-textured, smoothed out, smoothen, smoothened, soar, space, spire, squashed, squashed flat, stair, standard, step, steppe, stint, suave, table, tabloid, tabular, take off, tennis court, terrace, thumb plane, tread, trenching plane, trodden, trodden flat, trying plane, unbroken, uniform, uninterrupted, unrough, unroughened, unruffled, velvet, water level, zoom