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plane |
6 definitions found From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: Plane \Plane\, v. i. Of a boat, to lift more or less out of the water while in motion, after the manner of a hydroplane; to hydroplane. From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: Plane \Plane\, n. [F. plane, L. plana. See {Plane}, v. & a.] 1. (Geom.) A surface, real or imaginary, in which if any two points are taken the straight line which joins them lies wholly in that surface; or a surface, any section of which by a like surface is a straight line a surface without curvature. 2. (Astron.) An ideal surface, conceived as coinciding with or containing, some designated astronomical line circle, or other curve; as the plane of an orbit; the plane of the ecliptic, or of the equator. 3. (Mech.) A block or plate having a perfectly flat surface, used as a standard of flatness; a surface plate. 4. (Joinery) A tool for smoothing boards or other surfaces of wood, for forming moldings, etc It consists of a smooth-soled stock, usually of wood, from the under side or face of which projects slightly the steel cutting edge of a chisel, called the iron, which inclines backward, with an apperture in front for the escape of shavings; as the jack plane; the smoothing plane; the molding plane, etc {Objective plane} (Surv.), the horizontal plane upon which the object which is to be delineated, or whose place is to be determined, is supposed to stand {Perspective plane}. See {Perspective}. {Plane at infinity} (Geom.), a plane in which points infinitely distant are conceived as situated. {Plane iron}, the cutting chisel of a joiner's plane. {Plane of polarization}. (Opt.) See {Polarization}. {Plane of projection}. a The plane on which the projection is made corresponding to the perspective plane in perspective; -- called also principal plane. b (Descriptive Geom.) One of the planes to which points are referred for the purpose of determining their relative position in space. {Plane of refraction} or {reflection} (Opt.), the plane in which lie both the incident ray and the refracted or reflected ray. From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: Plane \Plane\, a. [L. planus: cf F. plan See {Plan}, a.] Without elevations or depressions; even level; flat; lying in or constituting, a plane; as a plane surface. Note: In science, this word (instead of plain) is almost exclusively used to designate a flat or level surface. {Plane angle}, the angle included between two straight lines in a plane. {Plane chart}, {Plane curve}. See under {Chart} and {Curve}. {Plane figure}, a figure all points of which lie in the same plane. If bounded by straight lines it is a rectilinear plane figure, if by curved lines it is a curvilinear plane figure. {Plane geometry}, that part of geometry which treats of the relations and properties of plane figures. {Plane problem}, a problem which can be solved geometrically by the aid of the right line and circle only. {Plane sailing} (Naut.), the method of computing a ship's place and course on the supposition that the earth's surface is a plane. {Plane scale} (Naut.), a scale for the use of navigators, on which are graduated chords, sines, tangents, secants, rhumbs, geographical miles, etc {Plane surveying}, surveying in which the curvature of the earth is disregarded; ordinary field and topographical surveying of tracts of moderate extent. {Plane table}, an instrument used for plotting the lines of a survey on paper in the field. {Plane trigonometry}, the branch of trigonometry in which its principles are applied to plane triangles. From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: Plane \Plane\, n. [F., fr L. platanus, Gr ?, fr ? broad; -- so called on account of its broad leaves and spreading form See {Place}, and cf {Platane}, {Plantain} the tree.] (Bot.) Any tree of the genus Platanus. Note: The Oriental plane ({Platanus orientalis}) is a native of Asia. It rises with a straight, smooth, branching stem to a great height, with palmated leaves, and long pendulous peduncles, sustaining several heads of small close-sitting flowers. The seeds are downy, and collected into round, rough, hard balls. The Occidental plane ({Platanus occidentalis}), which grows to a great height, is a native of North America, where it is popularly called {sycamore}, {buttonwood}, and {buttonball}, names also applied to the California species ({Platanus racemosa}). From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: Plane \Plane\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Planed}; p. pr & vb n. {Planing}.] [Cf. F. planer, L. planare, fr planus. See {Plane}, a., {Plain}, a., and cf {Planish}.] 1. To make smooth; to level; to pare off the inequalities of the surface of as of a board or other piece of wood, by the use of a plane; as to plane a plank. 2. To efface or remove. He planed away the names . . . written on his tables. --Chaucer. 3. Figuratively, to make plain or smooth. [R.] What student came but that you planed her path. --Tennyson. From WordNet r 1.6 [wn]: plane adj : having a horizontal surface in which no part is higher or lower than another; "a flat desk"; "acres of level farmland"; "a plane surface" [syn: {flat}, {level}] n 1: an aircraft that has fixed a wing and is powered by propellers or jets; "the flight was delayed due to trouble with the airplane" [syn: {airplane}, {aeroplane}] 2: (mathematics) an unbounded two-dimensional shape; "we will refer to the plane of the graph as the X-Y plane"; "any line joining two points on a plane lies wholly on that plane" [syn: {sheet}] 3: a level of existence or development; "he lived on a worldly plane" 4: a power tool for smoothing or shaping wood [syn: {planer}, {planing machine}] 5: a carpenter's hand tool with an adjustable blade for smoothing or shaping wood; "the cabinetmaker used a plane for the finish work" [syn: {carpenter's plane}, {woodworking plane}] v 1: cut slices from "The machine shaved off fine layers from the piece of wood" [syn: {shave}] 2: travel on the surface of water [syn: {skim}]
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