airplane

English

a Boeing 737 airplane

Alternative forms

• aeroplane, aëroplane (Commonwealth, Ireland)

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *h₂ews-

Proto-Indo-European *h₂ewsér

Proto-Hellenic *auhḗr

Ancient Greek ᾱ̓ήρ (āḗr)bor.

Latin āēr

Old French airbor.

Middle English aire

English air

▲

Ancient Greek ᾱ̓ήρ (āḗr)

Ancient Greek πλανάω (planáō)

Ancient Greek πλάνος (plános)

Ancient Greek ᾱ̓ερόπλᾰνος (āeróplănos)der.

French aéroplanebor.

English aeroplaneclip.

English plane

English airplane

From air +‎ plane as an alteration of aeroplane.

Pronunciation

• enPR: ârʹplān',
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈɛəˌpleɪ̯n/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈɛɹˌpleɪ̯n/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Hyphenation: air‧plane
• Rhymes: -ɛə(ɹ)pleɪn

Noun

airplane (plural airplanes)

1. (chiefly US, Canada, Philippines) A powered heavier-than-air aircraft with fixed wings.

   Hypernym: aircraft

2. (chiefly US, Canada, Philippines) A game to encourage small children to eat, in which the parent or carer pretends a spoonful of food is an aircraft flying into the child's mouth.
   • 1988, Matthew Linn, Sheila Fabricant, Dennis Linn, Healing the Eight Stages of Life, Paulist Press, →ISBN, page 66:

     So, he'd take a spoon and he'd start playing airplane, circling the spoon around in the air until it was ready to land in the runway of my mouth.

   • 1997 03, Maria Flook, Open Water, Ecco Press, →ISBN:

     Willis wondered what this fellow wanted to do, spoon feed him? Play airplane?

   • 2013 May 13, Theo L. Dorpat, Michael L. Miller, Clinical Interaction and the Analysis of Meaning: A New Psychoanalytic Theory, Routledge, →ISBN:

     For instance, Jan has taken to playing airplane with the spoon to get Charley to attend to the spoon and want to take it into his mouth.

Derived terms

• airplane cloth
• airplane ears
• airplaneful
• airplanelike
• airplane mode
• airplanist
• hydro-airplane
• paper airplane
• rubber band airplane

Translations

powered aircraft

• Abkhaz: аероплан (ajeropʼlan)
• Afrikaans: vliegtuig (af)
• Akan: adupire, wiemhyɛn
• Alabama: piɬɬawakáyka
• Albanian: aeroplan (sq) m, balonë (sq) f, avion (sq) m
• Aleut: igax̂tax̂
• Amharic: አይሮፕላን (ʾäyroplan)
• Amis: hikoki
• Arabic: طَائِرَة (ar) f (ṭāʔira), طَيَّارَة (ar) f (ṭayyāra)

  Egyptian Arabic: طيارة f (ṭayyāra)

• Aramaic:

  Assyrian Neo-Aramaic: ܛܲܝܵܣܬܵܐ f (ṭāyasta)

• Armenian: օդանավ (hy) (ōdanav), ինքնաթիռ (hy) (inkʻnatʻiṙ), աերոպլան (hy) (aeroplan) (dated)
• Assamese: উৰাজাহাজ (urazahaz), আকাশীযান (akaxizan), এৰ’প্লে’ন (eröplën)
• Asturian: avión (ast) m
• Atayal: hikoki'
• Aymara: latajamach'iwa
• Azerbaijani: təyyarə (az), uçaq (non-standard)
• Bambara: sannakurun
• Bashkir: самолёт (samolyot)
• Basque: hegazkin (eu)
• Belarusian: самалёт (be) m (samaljót), аэрапла́н m (aeraplán) (dated)
• Bengali: খপোত (bn) (khopōt), উড়োজাহাজ (bn) (uṛōjahaj), বিমান (bn) (biman), আকাশযান (bn) (akaśjan)
• Bikol:

  Central Bikol: eroplano (bcl)

• Bole: jirginsama
• Breton: karr-nij (br) m, nijerez f
• Bulgarian: самоле́т (bg) m (samolét), авио́н (bg) m (avión) (dated), аеропла́н (bg) m (aeroplán) (dated)
• Bunun: kusbabai
• Burmese: လေယာဉ်ပျံ (my) (leyanypyam)
• Carpathian Rusyn: please add this translation if you can
• Catalan: avió (ca) m
• Cebuano: eroplano
• Chechen: кема (kema), хӏаваан кема (havaan kema)
• Cherokee: ᏥᏳ ᎦᏃᎯᎵᏙᎯ (tsiyu ganohilidohi)
• Cheyenne: ame'hahtȯtse
• Chichewa: ndege
• Chickasaw: piini' wakaa'
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 飛機 / 飞机 (fei¹ gei¹)

  Dungan: фиҗи (fiži)

  Eastern Min: 飛機 / 飞机 (hĭ-*gĭ), 飛船 / 飞船 (buŏi-sùng)

  Gan: 飛機 / 飞机 (fi¹ ji¹)

  Hakka: 飛行機 / 飞行机 (fî-hàng-kî, pî-hàng-kî, fî-yàng-kî, pî-yàng-kî), 飛機 / 飞机 (fî-kî)

  Hokkien: 飛機 / 飞机 (zh-min-nan) (hui-ki), 飛行機 / 飞行机 (zh-min-nan) (hui-hêng-ki, poe-hêng-ki, pe-hêng-ki, hue-lêng-ki, hui-lêng-ki, poe-lêng-ki, hoe-nn̄g-ki), 飛船 / 飞船 (zh-min-nan) (poe-chûn, pe-chûn, hui-chûn) (dated)

  Jin: 飛機 / 飞机 (fei¹ ji¹)

  Mandarin: 飛機 / 飞机 (zh) (fēijī), 飛行機 / 飞行机 (zh) (fēixíngjī)

  Northern Min: 飛機 / 飞机 (hí-gí)

  Wu: 飛機 / 飞机

  Xiang: 飛機 / 飞机 (fei¹ ji¹)

• Chukchi: риӈэнэӈ (riṇėnėṇ)
• Comorian:

  Ngazidja Comorian: roplani, ropulani

• Cornish: jynn ebron m
• Cree:

  Northern East Cree: ᑳᐱᒥᐦᔮᒥᑭᐦᒡ (kaapimihyaamikihc), ᑳᐱᐹᒥᐦᔮᒥᑭᐦᒡ (kaapipaamihyaamikihc)

  Southern East Cree: ᑳᐱᒥᐦᔮᒪᑲᐦᒡ (kaapimihyaamakahc)

• Crimean Tatar: tayare, uçaq
• Czech: letoun (cs) m, letadlo (cs) n
• Danish: flyvemaskine (da) c, fly (da) n, maskine (da)
• Dhuwal: ḏikarr
• Dutch: vliegtuig (nl) n
• Elfdalian: flygmasin m, fliuogmasin m, flygplan n
• Esperanto: avio, aviadilo, flugmaŝino
• Estonian: lennuk (et)
• Farefare: alupele
• Faroese: flogfar n
• Finnish: lentokone (fi)
• French: avion (fr) m, aéroplane (fr) m
• Frisian:

  West Frisian: fleantúch n, fleanmasine

• Fula:

  Adlam: 𞤤𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤢-𞤱𞤭𞥅𞤪𞤮𞥅𞤸𞤢, 𞤢𞤪𞤢𞤨𞤵𞤤𞤫𞤤, 𞤢𞤱𞤭𞤴𞤮𞤲

  Latin: laana-wiirooha, arapulel, awiyon

• Galician: avión (gl) m, aeroplano (gl) m
• Georgian: თვითმფრინავი (ka) (tvitmprinavi), აეროპლანი (aeroṗlani)
• German: Flugzeug (de) n Flieger (de) m
• Greek: αεροπλάνο (el) n (aeropláno), αεροσκάφος (el) n (aeroskáfos)
• Greenlandic: timmisartoq
• Guarani:

  Paraguayan Guarani: ^{(please verify)} kurusu veve

• Gujarati: વિમાન (vimān)
• Hausa: jirgin sama (ha)
• Hawaiian: mokulele, mokuea
• Hebrew: מָטוֹס (he) m (matós), אֲוִירוֹן (he) n (avirón)
• Hindi: विमान (hi) m (vimān), हवाई जहाज़ m (havāī jahāz), वायु-यान m (vāyu-yān)
• Hmong:

  White Hmong: dav hlau

• Hungarian: repülőgép (hu), (colloquial) repülő (hu)
• Icelandic: flugvél (is) f
• Ido: aeroplano (io)
• Indonesian: pesawat (id) (colloquial), pesawat terbang (id) (formal), kapal terbang (id) (obsolete)
• Ingrian: samoljotta, aeroplana
• Interlingua: avion, aeroplano
• Inuktitut: ᑎᖕᒥᓲᖅ (tingmisooq), ᖃᖓᑕᓲᖅ (qangatasooq)
• Inupiaq: tiŋŋun
• Irish: eitleán (ga) m
• Italian: aereo (it) m, aeroplano (it) m, apparecchio (it) m, aeromobile (it) f
• Japanese: 飛行機 (ja) (ひこうき, hikōki), 航空機 (ja) (こうくうき, kōkūki)
• Javanese: ꦩꦺꦴꦤ꧀ꦠꦺꦴꦂꦩꦧꦸꦂ (montor mabur)
• Jeju: 비헹기 (bihenggi), 비엥기 (bienggi)
• Kanakanabu: hikoki
• Kannada: ವಿಮಾನ (kn) (vimāna), ಏರೋಪ್ಲೇನ್ (ērōplēn), ಏರೋಪ್ಲೇನು (kn) (ērōplēnu), ಗಾಳಿತೇರು (kn) (gāḷitēru)
• Kashmiri: پلین (plēn)
• Kavalan: hikuki
• Kazakh: ұшақ (kk) (ūşaq), самолет (samolet) (dated), аэроплан (aéroplan) (dated)
• Khmer: កប៉ាល់ហោះ (kaʼpal hɑh), យន្តហោះ (yŭən hɑh), សកុណាយន្ត (saʼkonaayŭən)
• Koasati: piththawaika
• Kongo: ndèke
• Korean: 비행기(飛行機) (ko) (bihaenggi), 항공기(航空機) (ko) (hanggonggi)
• Kurdish:

  Central Kurdish: فڕۆکە (ckb) (frroke), تەیارە (ckb) (teyare)

  Northern Kurdish: balafir (ku) f, firroke (ku), teyare (ku)

• Kyrgyz: самолёт (ky) (samolyot), учак (ky) (ucak), аэроплан (ky) (aeroplan) (dated)
• Lak: самолет (samolet), айрипӏалан (ayripʼalan)
• Lakota: kiŋyékhiyapi
• Lao: ອາກາດຍານ (ʼā kā da nyān), ເຄື່ອງບິນ (khư̄ang bin), ເຮືອບິນ (hư̄a bin), ຍົນ (lo) (nyon)
• Latin: aeroplanum n
• Latvian: lidmašīna f, lidaparāts m, gaisakuģis m
• Lingala: avió, mpepo
• Lithuanian: lėktuvas (lt) m, aeroplanas m (archaic)
• Macedonian: авио́н (mk) m (avión)
• Malagasy: fiaramanidina (mg)
• Malay: kapal terbang (ms)
• Malayalam: വിമാനം (ml) (vimānaṁ)
• Maltese: ajruplan m
• Manchu: ᡩᡝᠶᡝᡨᡠᠨ (deyetun)
• Mansi:

  Northern Mansi: товлыӈхап (tovlyňhap)

• Manx: etlan m, greie etlee m
• Māori: wakarere (mi), waka rererangi (mi), manurere (mi), rererangi, eropereina, aropereina
• Marathi: विमान (vimān)
• Mari:

  Eastern Mari: кÿртньыгайык (kÿrtńygajyk)

• Mauritian Creole: avyon
• Mirandese: abion m
• Mizo: thlawhtheihna
• Mongolian:

  Cyrillic: нисэх онгоц (mn) (nisex ongoc), онгоц (mn) (ongoc), (China) нисгэл (mn) (nisgel)

  Mongolian script: ᠨᠢᠰᠬᠦ
  ᠣᠩᠭᠤᠴᠠ (niskü ongɣuča), ᠣᠩᠭᠤᠴᠠ (ongɣuča), (China) ᠨᠢᠰᠬᠡᠯ (niskel)

• Moore: nasaar-sɩlga, sɩlga
• Nahuatl: tepoztōtōtl (nah), tepozpatlanqui
• Navajo: chidí naatʼaʼí
• Neapolitan: arioplàno m, apparècchio m
• Nepali: विमान (vimān), हवाईजहाज (ne) (hawāījahāj), प्लेन (plen)
• Niuean: vakalele
• Norman: avion m
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: fly (no) n

  Nynorsk: fly n

• Occitan: avion (oc) m
• Odia: ଉଡ଼ାଜାହାଜ (uṛājāhāja), ବିମାନ (or) (bimāna)
• Ojibwe: bemisemagak
• Oromo: xiyyaara
• Ossetian: хӕдтӕхӕг (xædtæxæg)
• Paiwan: hikuki
• Pali: ākāsayāna n, vehāsayāna n
• Pannonian Rusyn: авион m inan (avion), крилатица f (krilatica), аероплан m (aeroplan)
• Pashto: الوتکه (ps) f (alwatëka), طياره (ps) f (tayāra), هوايي جهاز m (hawāyi jahāz)
• Persian:

  Dari: طَیَّارَه (tayyāra)

  Iranian Persian: هَواپِیْما (havâpeymâ), طَیَّارِه (tayyâre) (dated)

• Plautdietsch: Loftschepp n
• Polish: samolot (pl) m, aeroplan (pl) m (obsolete)
• Portuguese: avião (pt) m, aeroplano (pt) m
• Punjabi: ਹਵਾਈ-ਜਹਾਜ਼ (havāī-jahāz), ਜਹਾਜ਼ (jahāz)
• Puyuma: hikuki
• Quechua: antanka, lata pisqu, maraq
• Romanian: aeroplan (ro) n, avion (ro) n
• Romansh: aviun m, eroplan m
• Rukai: ngiapapalay
• Russian: самолёт (ru) m (samoljót), аэропла́н (ru) m (aeroplán) (dated)
• Saaroa: saliamiapihlihli
• Saisiyat: kamahayap
• Sakizaya: hikuki, babelbel
• Sami:

  Inari Sami: kirdemmaašin

  Northern Sami: girdi

  Skolt Sami: jarplan

• Samoan: vaʻalele, vaʻalele
• Sanskrit: विमान (sa) (vimāna), वायु-यान (vāyu-yāna)
• Sardinian: aeroplanu m
• Scottish Gaelic: itealan m
• Senni:

  Koyraboro Senni: beenehii

• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: авѝо̄н m, зра̏копло̄в m (Croatia)

  Latin: avìōn (sh) m, zrȁkoplōv (sh) m (Croatia)

• Seychellois Creole: avyon
• Shan: လေႇယိၼ်ႇပျၢၼ်ႇ (lèe yìn pjàan), ႁိူဝ်းမိၼ် (hóe mǐn)
• Shona: ndege
• Sinhalese: ගුවන්යානය (guwanyānaya), අහස්යානය (si) (ahasyānaya)
• Slovak: lietadlo (sk) n, letún m
• Slovene: letalo (sl) n, avion (sl) m
• Somali: diyaarad
• Sorbian:

  Lower Sorbian: lětadło n

  Upper Sorbian: lětadło n

• Sotho: sefofane (st)
• Southern Altai: самолёт (samolyot)
• Spanish: avión (es) m, aeroplano (es) m
• Sranan Tongo: opolangi, flikmasyin
• Swahili: ndege (sw), eropleni (sw) class 9/10
• Swedish: flygplan (sv) n, flygmaskin (sv) c (uncommon)
• Tagalog: eroplano (tl), salipawpaw
• Tajik: самолёт (tg) (samolyot), тайёра (tg) (tayyora), ҳавопаймо (tg) (havopaymo), аэроплан (aeroplan) (dated)
• Tamil: விமானம் (ta) (vimāṉam), வானவூர்தி (ta) (vāṉavūrti)
• Taroko: asu (Truku), skaya (Truku), sapah skiya (Tgdaya)
• Tatar: очкыч (tt) (oçqıç), самолёт (samolyot), аэроплан (aʹroplan) (dated)
• Telugu: విమానము (te) (vimānamu)
• Thai: เครื่องบิน (th) (krʉ̂ʉang-bin), อากาศยาน (th) (aa-gàat-sà-yaan), เรือบิน (th) (rʉʉa-bin)

  Northern Thai: please add this translation if you can

  Southern Thai: please add this translation if you can

• Tibetan: གནམ་གྲུ (gnam gru), ལྕགས་བྱ (lcags bya)
• Tigrinya: ነፋሪት (näfarit)
• Tokelauan: vakalele
• Tok Pisin: balus (tpi)
• Tongan: vakapuna
• Tsou: hikoki
• Tumbuka: ndege
• Turkish: uçak (tr), (obsolete) tayyare (tr)

  Ottoman Turkish: طیاره (tayyare)

• Turkmen: samolýot, uçar, aeroplan (tk) (dated)
• Tuvaluan: vakalele
• Ukrainian: літа́к (uk) m (liták), аеропла́н (uk) m (aeroplán) (dated)
• Urdu: طَیّارَہ m (taiyāra), ہَوائی جَہاز m (havāī jahāz), جَہاز m (jahāz), ہَوا پَیْما m (havā paymā), وِمان m (vimān)
• Uyghur: ئايروپىلان (ayropilan)
• Uzbek: tayyora (uz), samolyot (uz), aeroplan (uz)
• Vietnamese: máy bay (vi), tàu bay (vi), phi cơ (vi) (飛機)
• Volapük: flitöm (vo), flitömil (diminutive), leflitöm (augmentative)
• Võro: linnuk, aeroplaan
• Wallisian: vakalele
• Waray-Waray: eroplano, edro
• Welsh: awyren (cy) f
• Yakut: самолет (samolet), сөмөлүөт (sömölüöt), көтөр-аал (kötör-aal)
• Yami: sikoki
• Yiddish: אַעראָפּלאַן m (aeroplan), עראָפּלאַן m (eroplan)
• Yindjibarndi: barbarrnyungu
• Yogad: eroplano
• Yonaguni: 飛行機 (ひぐんき, higunki), 飛行機 (ちこーき, chikouki)
• Yoruba: ọkọ̀ òfuurufú, bààlúù
• Zhuang: feihgih

Verb

airplane (third-person singular simple present airplanes, present participle airplaning, simple past and past participle airplaned)

1. (intransitive) To fly in an aeroplane.
2. (transitive) To transport by aeroplane.

See also

• aircraft
• flycraft
• glider
• helicopter

Further reading

• “airplane”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
• “airplane, n.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.

Anagrams

• perianal