Where does “plane fright” come from?

plane fright (English) comes from English plane, from Middle English plane, from Old French plane, from Latin platanus, from Greek πλάτανος, from Ancient Greek πλάτανος, from Ancient Greek πλατύς, from Proto-Indo-European pléth₂us — flat.

plane fright (English): Fear of planes, especially fear of air-travel on planes

Definitions

  1. Fear of planes, especially fear of air-travel on planes

Ancestry of “plane fright”, step by step

plane fright traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English plane

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishplaneOf a surface: flat or level; A level or flat...
2Middle Englishplane
3Old Frenchplane
4Latinplatanusplanetree, sycamore
5Greekπλάτανοςplane tree
6Ancient Greekπλάτανοςplanetree
7Ancient Greekπλατύςwide, broad; flat, level; broad-shouldered
8Proto-Indo-Europeanpléth₂usflat, broad
9Proto-Indo-Europeanpleth₂-flat

via English fright

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishfrightA state of terror excited by the sudden...
2Middle EnglishfrightAlternative form of frith; A fright or scare
3Old EnglishfryhtuAlternative form of fyrhtu: fright
4Old Englishfyrhtufright
5Proto-West Germanicfurhtīfright, fear
6Proto-Germanicfurhtį̄fear, fright
7Proto-Indo-Europeanperǵ-
Every word from Proto-Indo-European pleth₂-