*plane*

n. [ aëro- + plane. ] (Aëronautics) 1. A light rigid plane used in aërial navigation to oppose sudden upward or downward movement in the air, as in gliding machines; specif., such a plane slightly inclined and driven forward as a lifting device in some flying machines. Also called airfoil. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

2. Hence: A heavier-than-air flying machine using such a device to provide lift; an airplane. In a modern aeroplane, the airfoils are called the wings, and most of the lift is derived from these surfaces. In contrast to helicopters, the wings are fixed to the passenger compartment (airframe) and do not move relative to the frame; thus such a machine is called a fixed-wing aircraft. These machines are called monoplanes, biplanes, triplanes, or quadruplanes, according to the number of main supporting planes (wings) used in their construction. After 1940 few planes with more than one airfoil were constructed, and these are used by hobbyists or for special purposes. Being heavier than air they depend for their levitation on motion imparted by the thrust from either propellers driven by an engine, or, in a jet plane, by the reaction from a high-velocity stream of gases expelled rearward from a jet engine. They start from the ground by a run on small wheels or runners, and are guided by a steering apparatus consisting of horizontal and vertical movable planes, which usually form part of the wings or tail. There are many varieties of form and construction, which in some cases are known by the names of their inventors. In U.S., an aeroplane is usually called an airplane or plane. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. +PJC ]

n. a heavier-than-air aircraft. Same as aeroplane{ 2 }. [ PJC ]

n. a propeller designed for propelling airplanes.
Syn. -- airscrew, propeller, prop. [ WordNet 1.5 +PJC ]

A plane used for cutting out grooves and inlaying strings and bands in straight and circular work. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Pref. bi- + plane. ] (Aëronautics) An aëroplane with two main supporting surfaces one above the other. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

a. (Aëronautics) Having, or consisting of, two superposed planes, aërocurves, or the like; of or pertaining to a biplane; as, a biplane rudder. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

(Join.) A plane used for working the upper surface of staircase rails. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Convex on one side, and flat on the other; plano-convex. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A plane on a door, giving the name, and sometimes the employment, of the occupant. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. a plane equipped with pontoons for landing or taking off from water.
Syn. -- pontoon plane, seaplane. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

. (Aëronautics) An aëroplane with a boatlike or other understructure that enables it to travel on, or to rise from the surface of, a body of water by its own motive power; -- now usually referred to as a seaplane. [ obsolescent ] [ Webster 1913 Suppl. +PJC ]

n. A hydro-aëroplane having two supporting planes. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

n. [ Pref. hydro-, 1 + plane. ] 1. A plane, or any of a number of planes, projecting from the hull of a submarine boat, which by being elevated or depressed cause the boat, when going ahead, to sink or rise, after the manner of an aëroplane. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

2. A projecting plane or fin on a hydroplane{ 3 } to lift the moving boat on top of the water; also, a gliding boat. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

3. a powered surface boat fitted with planes (hydroplanes{ 2 }) projecting below the hull, designed to lift the boat, when moving rapidly, so that the hull itself is lifted out of the water and the boat is supported by the hydrodynamic forces of the water on the hydroplanes{ 2 }, thus permitting higher speeds; formerly called a gliding boat. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. +PJC ]

v. i. 1. Of a boat, to move through water while supported by hydroplanes{ 3 } (see hydroplane{ 3 }, above). [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

2. to move through a body of water supported by the hydrodynamic forces on a surface, similar in principle to a hydroplane{ 3 }; -- said, e. .g, of automobiles skidding on a shallow patch of water on a road when moving at high speed, thus causing the tires to lose contact with the road surface. [ PJC ]

a. Between planets; as, interplanetary spaces; interplanetary travel. Boyle. [ 1913 Webster +PJC ]

a. Having several or many planes or plane surfaces; as, a multiplane kite. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

n. [ Multi- + plane. ] (Aeronautics) An airplane with three or more superposed main wings, such as a triplane. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

a. (Math.) Not lying in one plane; not planar; -- said of certain curves. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ or }. One unprovided with motive power. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

n. [ F., fr. L. platanus, Gr. &unr_;, fr. &unr_; 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. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ 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). [ 1913 Webster ]

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. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ In science, this word (instead of plain) is almost exclusively used to designate a flat or level surface. [ 1913 Webster ]

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. [ 1913 Webster ]

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. [ 1913 Webster ]

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. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Mech.) A block or plate having a perfectly flat surface, used as a standard of flatness; a surface plate. [ 1913 Webster ]

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. [ 1913 Webster ]

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
Plane of reflection (Opt.), the plane in which lie both the incident ray and the refracted or reflected ray. [ 1913 Webster ]

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. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To efface or remove. [ 1913 Webster ]

He planed away the names . . . written on his tables. Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Figuratively, to make plain or smooth. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

What student came but that you planed her path. Tennyson. [ 1913 Webster ]

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 1913 Suppl. ]

a. (Optics) Having opposite surfaces exactly plane and parallel, as a piece of glass. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. One who, or that which, planes; a planing machine; esp., a machine for planing wood or metals. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Print.) A wooden block used for forcing down the type in a form, and making the surface even. Hansard. [ 1913 Webster ]

Planer centers. See under Center. [ 1913 Webster ]

[ From J. S. Planer, a German botanist. ] (Bot.) A small-leaved North American tree (Planera aquatica) related to the elm, but having a wingless, nutlike fruit. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OE. planete, F. planète, L. planeta, fr. Gr. &unr_;, and &unr_; a planet; prop. wandering, fr. &unr_; to wander, fr. &unr_; a wandering. ] 1. (Astron.) A celestial body which revolves about the sun in an orbit of a moderate degree of eccentricity. It is distinguished from a comet by the absence of a coma, and by having a less eccentric orbit. See Solar system. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ The term planet was first used to distinguish those stars which have an apparent motion through the constellations from the fixed stars, which retain their relative places unchanged. The inferior planets are Mercury and Venus, which are nearer to the sun than is the earth; the superior planets are Mars, the asteroids, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune, which are farther from the sun than is the earth. Primary planets are those which revolve about the sun; secondary planets, or moons, are those which revolve around the primary planets as satellites, and at the same time revolve with them about the sun. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A star, as influencing the fate of a men. [ 1913 Webster ]

There's some ill planet reigns. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

Planet gear. (Mach.) See Epicyclic train, under Epicyclic. --
Planet wheel, a gear wheel which revolves around the wheel with which it meshes, in an epicyclic train. [ 1913 Webster ]

See under Plane, a. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ NL.: cf. F. planétaire. See Planetary. ] An orrery. See Orrery. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Cf. L. planetarius an astrologer, F. planétaire planetary. See Planet. ] 1. Of or pertaining to the planets; as, planetary inhabitants; planetary motions; planetary year. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Consisting of planets; as, a planetary system. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Astrol.) Under the dominion or influence of a planet. “Skilled in the planetary hours.” Drayton. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. Caused by planets. “A planetary plague.” Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. Having the nature of a planet; erratic; revolving; wandering. “Erratical and planetary life.” Fuller. [ 1913 Webster ]

Planetary days, the days of the week as shared among the planets known to the ancients, each having its day. Hutton. --
Planetary nebula, a nebula exhibiting a uniform disk, like that of a planet. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Belonging to planets. [ R. ] Young. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ } a. [ L. planeticus, Gr. &unr_;. ] Of or pertaining to planets. Sir T. Browne. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Planet + -oid. ] (Astron.) A body resembling a planet; an asteroid. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Pertaining to a planetoid. [ 1913 Webster ]

(Bot.) Same as 1st Plane. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ } a. Affected by the influence of planets; blasted. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

Like planet-stricken men of yore
He trembles, smitten to the core
By strong compunction and remorse. Wordsworth. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A little planet. [ R. ] Conybeare. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. quadru- in comp. + E. plane. ] An airplane with four superposed main supporting surfaces. Contrasted with triplane biplane and monoplane. They are now used only for hobbyist or historical activities. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. +PJC ]

See Scaleboard plane, under Scaleboard. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Aviation) An airplane having one or more tractor propellers; -- called also tractor. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]