Aeroplane

/ˈɛərəpleɪn/ noun

Definition

A powered flying vehicle with wings, used for transporting passengers or cargo; the British English spelling of airplane.

Etymology

From French 'aéroplane' (from Greek 'aero-' meaning air + 'plane' from Latin 'planus' meaning flat/level surface). The term was coined in the early 1900s to describe flying machines.

Kelly Says

The British use 'aeroplane' and Americans say 'airplane,' both from the same French root, but the real etymology reveals ancient Greek thinking—'plane' originally meant a flat surface, and early aircraft designers imagined them as flat wings moving through air.

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