plane´ness

plane¹ «playn», noun, adjective, verb, planed, plan|ing.

–n.

1. = airplane. (Cf. ↑airplane)

2. a level; grade: »

Try to keep your work on a high plane.

3. a flat or level surface: »

The plane of the table was warped by dampness.

4. a thin, flat, or curved supporting surface of an airplane.

5. a surface such that if any two points on it are joined by a straight line, the line will be contained wholly in the surface.

–adj.

1. flat; level; not convex or concave: »

The plane lens was like a coin, without curvature.

2. having a flat or level surface.

3. being wholly in a plane: »

a plane figure.

4. of or having to do with figures in a plane. See also plane geometry. (Cf. ↑plane geometry)

–v.i.

1. to travel by airplane: »

The President's son planed in from Washington (Time).

2. to glide or soar, as an airplane does.

3. (of a boat or water skier) to rise slightly out of the water while moving at great speed.

4. (of an automobile) to rise slightly from the surface of a wet road on a thin layer of water while traveling at high speed.

╂[< Latin plānum level surface, and plānus, adjective, level. See etym. of doublets piano² (Cf. ↑piano), plain¹ (Cf. ↑plain), plan. (Cf. ↑plan)]

–plane´ness, noun.

plane² «playn», noun, verb, planed, plan|ing.

–n.

1. a carpenter's tool with a blade for smoothing or shaping wood.

2. a machine for smoothing or removing metal.

3. a mason's tool resembling a large wooden trowel, used to smooth or level the surface of clay, of sand in a mold, or of mortar or plaster in a wall.

–v.t.

1. to smooth or level (wood) with a plane; use a plane on.

2. to remove or shave with a plane.

–v.i.

1. to work with or use a plane: »

a rosy-cheeked Englishman…up to his knees in shavings, and planing away at a bench (Herman Melville).

2. to function or be intended to function as a plane.

╂[< Old French plane < Latin plāna < plānāre make level < plānus plain¹]

plane³ «playn», noun.

British. the plane tree.

╂[< Middle French plane < Latin platanus < Greek plátanos < platýs broad (because of the shape of its leaf). See etym. of doublet plantain¹. (Cf. ↑plantain)]