plane

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
plane1

▶noun

• 1 a flat surface on which a straight line joining any two points would wholly lie.

  ■ an imaginary flat surface through or joining material objects.

  ■ a flat surface producing lift by the action of air or water over and under it.

• 2 a level of existence or thought: the spiritual plane.

▶adjective

• 1 completely level or flat.

• 2 relating to only two-dimensional surfaces or magnitudes: plane and solid geometry.

▶verb

• 1 (of a bird or an airborne object) soar without moving the wings; glide.

• 2 (of a boat, surfboard, etc.) skim over the surface of water as a result of lift produced hydrodynamically.

– origin C17: from L. planum ‘flat surface’, neut. of planus ‘plain’ (adj.).

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
plane2

▶noun short for aeroplane.

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
plane3

▶noun a tool consisting of a block with a projecting steel blade, used to smooth a wooden surface by paring shavings from it. ▶verb smooth with a plane.

– origin ME: from a var. of obs. Fr. plaine ‘planing instrument’, from late L. plana, from L. planare ‘make level’.

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
plane4 (also plane tree)

▶noun a tall spreading tree of the northern hemisphere, with maple-like leaves and bark which peels in uneven patches. [Genus Platanus.]

– origin ME: from OFr., from L. platanus, from Gk platanos, from platus ‘broad’.