aeroplane
/ˈɛə̯.ɹə.pleɪ̯n/ noun, verb
Also a form of airplane
Forms aeroplanes aeroplaning aeroplaned airplane æroplane
- noun (aviation, Commonwealth) Synonym of airplane. A powered heavier-than-air aircraft with fixed wings.
- noun (Commonwealth) Synonym of airplane. A game played when spoon-feeding children.
- noun (aeronautics, archaic, obsolete) Synonym of airfoil. An aerodynamic surface.
- noun Any of various nymphalid butterflies, of various genera, having a slow gliding flight. Also called planes.
- verb (intransitive) To fly in an aeroplane.
- verb (transitive) To transport by aeroplane.
- noun Dated spelling of aeroplane.
Synonyms
Etymology
Borrowed from French aéroplane, from Ancient Greek ἀερόπλανος (aeróplanos, “wandering in air”), from ἀήρ (aḗr, “air”) + πλάνος (plános, “wandering”), equivalent to aero- + plane. First used by Joseph Pline in an 1855 patent.https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Aircraft_Design/NeHoahlhCGMC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Joseph+Pline+glider&pg=PA3&printsec=frontcover;https://books.google.at/books?id=fSQUAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA768&dq=Joseph+Pline+brevet+1855&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjgk5Cz_a_wAhXZhf0HHdjNAJwQ6AEwAnoECAIQAg#v=onepage&q=Joseph%20Pline%20brevet%201855&f=false
Webster’s 1913
- noun A flying machine, or a small plane for experiments on flying, which floats in the air only when propelled through it.
Etymology [Aëro- + plane.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “aeroplane”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details