Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

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.

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.

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.

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}).

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.

Source : WordNet®

plane
     n 1: an aircraft that has a fixed 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}]

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}]

plane
     v 1: cut or remove with or as if with a plane; "The machine
          shaved off fine layers from the piece of wood" [syn: {shave}]
     2: travel on the surface of water [syn: {skim}]
     3: make even or smooth, with or as with a carpenter's plane;
        "plane the top of the door"