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plane²

(plān)

1. A carpenter's tool with an adjustable blade for smoothing and leveling wood.

2. A trowel-shaped tool for smoothing the surface of clay, sand, or plaster in a mold.

v. planed, plan·ing, planes

v.tr.

1. To smooth or finish with a plane: planed the door.

2. To remove with a plane: plane off the rough edges on a board.

v.intr.

To work with a plane.

[Middle English, from Old French, from Late Latin plāna, from plānāre, to plane, from plānus, flat; see pelə-² in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]

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plane2

carpentry plane

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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