Airplanes

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A form of flying transportation that operates in the atmosphere with fixed wings and engines, mainly for carrying passengers or freight
2. Vehicles designed for aerial travel featuring wings and engines, serving both civilian and military needs for transporting people and goods
3. Machines with wings and engines that travel through the air carrying people or cargo

Etymology: "Airplanes" is simply the plural of "airplane," so the history belongs to the singular. The word is a compound of "air" and "plane," but the "plane" part is the surprise: it comes from the Ancient Greek "planáō," meaning "to wander" or "to make wander," the same root that gave English "planet," a word for a wandering star. The Greek compound "āeróplănos" meant something like "wandering in the air," and French borrowed it as "aéroplane" in the early days of heavier-than-air flight. English took that French form and shortened it. "Airplane" is a clipping of "aeroplane," with "air" substituted for the Greek-derived "aero-," so the modern word blends the native English "air" with the classical "plane." Its "plane" meaning, a flat-winged flying machine, grew from the French coinage rather than from the geometric or carpentry senses.

Synonyms: planes, aircraft, jets, flying machines, aeroplanes