Where does “seaplane” come from?
seaplane (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.
seaplane (English): Any aircraft capable of taking off from, and...
Definitions
- Any aircraft capable of taking off from, and...
Ancestry of “seaplane”, step by step
seaplane traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English plane
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | plane | Of a surface: flat or level; A level or flat... |
| 2 | Middle English | plane | — |
| 3 | Old French | plane | — |
| 4 | Latin | platanus | planetree, sycamore |
| 5 | Greek | πλάτανος | plane tree |
| 6 | Ancient Greek | πλάτανος | planetree |
| 7 | Ancient Greek | πλατύς | wide, broad; flat, level; broad-shouldered |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | pléth₂us | flat, broad |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | pleth₂- | flat |
via English sea
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | sea | A large body of salt water; A lake, especially if... |
| 2 | Middle English | see | sea, ocean; A body of water, a lake; seat, chair |
| 3 | Old English | sǣ | sea, lake |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | saiwi | sea |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | saiwiz | sea, ocean |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | sīhwaną | to filter |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | seykʷ- | to moisten; to filter |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | sey- | to be wet; dribble; run; to stretch one's arm;... |