aeroplane

See also: æroplane, aéroplane, and aëroplane

English

An aeroplane (Airbus A330)

Alternative forms

• aëroplane (dated)
• airplane (US, Canada, Philippines)
• æroplane (dated, hypercorrect, nonstandard)

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *h₂ews-

Proto-Indo-European *h₂ewsér

Proto-Hellenic *auhḗr

Ancient Greek ᾱ̓ήρ (āḗr)

Ancient Greek πλανάω (planáō)

Ancient Greek -ος (-os)

Ancient Greek ᾱ̓ερόπλᾰνος (āeróplănos)der.

French aéroplanebor.

English aeroplane

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.[1];[2]

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈɛə̯.ɹə.pleɪ̯n/, dated IPA^(key): /ˈeɪ.əɹ-/
• (Standard Southern British) IPA^(key): /ˈɛː.ɹə.plɛjn/

  • Audio:

    (file)

• (MLE) IPA^(key): /ˈɛː.ɹoʊ̯.plɛɪ̯n/, [ˈɛː.ɹow.plejn], [ˈɛː.ɹow.pleːn]
• (Australia) IPA^(key): /ˈeː.ɹə.plæɪ̯n/, /ˈe.ɹə.plæɪ̯n/

  • Audio:

    (file)

• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈɛɹ.ə.pleɪ̯n/
• Hyphenation: ae‧ro‧plane

Noun

aeroplane (plural aeroplanes)

1. (aviation, Commonwealth) Synonym of airplane. A powered heavier-than-air aircraft with fixed wings.
   • 1944 May 20, Russian Rhapsody, spoken by the gremlins from the Kremlin:

     Schicklgruber's aeroplanes we smash right to the ground.

   • 2013 September 6, Tom Cheshire, “Solar-powered travel”, in The Guardian Weekly‎^[3], volume 189, number 13, archived from the original on 11 April 2023, page 34:

     Piccard and Borschberg initially considered a zeppelin-like solar-powered airship but realised it would be just as difficult to make as an aeroplane and would be less quick through the air.

2. (Commonwealth) Synonym of airplane. A game played when spoon-feeding children.
3. (aeronautics, archaic, obsolete) Synonym of airfoil. An aerodynamic surface.
4. Any of various nymphalid butterflies, of various genera, having a slow gliding flight. Also called planes.

Usage notes

• Aeroplane was the predominant spelling in the US until the 1920s, and is still used idiolectally among some American speakers.
• Canada officially uses aeroplane, but the spelling airplane has become much more common as a result of US influence.
• Airplane has also become a usual variant in most other areas, but is considered informal.

Derived terms

• aeroplane mode
• aeroplaner
• aeroplanist
• chairoplane
• here comes the aeroplane
• hydroaeroplane (dated)
• paper aeroplane
• plane

Related terms

• aero-
• plane

airfoil

• aeronautics
• hydroplane

airplane

• aero
• aerospace

aviation, aeronautics

• aerodrome

Descendants

• → Swahili: eropleni
• → Welsh: eroplen

Translations

airplane — see airplane

Verb

aeroplane (third-person singular simple present aeroplanes, present participle aeroplaning, simple past and past participle aeroplaned)

1. (intransitive) To fly in an aeroplane.
2. (transitive) To transport by aeroplane.
   • 1919, The American Angler, volume 4, page 221:

     The rod was discarded, and then, hand over hand, the prize of them all was aeroplaned to the top of the cliff.

See also

• aircraft
• airplane
• glider
• helicopter