Where does “tailplane” come from?

tailplane (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.

tailplane (English): A horizontal airfoil, at the rear of an aircraft,...

Definitions

  1. A horizontal airfoil, at the rear of an aircraft,...

Ancestry of “tailplane”, step by step

tailplane 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 Tail

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishTailA Chinese constellation coinciding with the tail of Scorpius, one of the 28 lunar mansions and the tail of Azure Dragon
2Middle EnglishtaylA tail; The back side or reverse of a creature; A...
3Old Englishtæġltail
4Proto-Germanictagląhair; ponytail; hair of a tail; tail
5Proto-Indo-Europeandoḱ-hair of the tail
6Proto-Indo-Europeandeḱ-take; perceive
Every word from Proto-Indo-European pleth₂-