Etymology and Usage
First attested in English in late 19th century, the word aeroplane derives from the French aéroplane, which comes from the Greek ἀήρ (aēr), "air" + either Latin planus, "level", or Greek πλάνος (planos), "wandering". "Aeroplane" originally referred just to the wing, as it is a plane moving through the air. In an example of synecdoche, the word for the wing came to refer to the entire aircraft.
In the United Kingdom and most of the Commonwealth, the term 'aeroplane' is used for powered fixed-wing aircraft. In the United States and Canada, the term 'airplane' is usually applied to these aircraft.
Read more about this topic: Fixed-wing Aircraft, Classes of Fixed-wing Aircraft, Airplane/aeroplane
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“The universal principle of etymology in all languages: words are carried over from bodies and from the properties of bodies to express the things of the mind and spirit. The order of ideas must follow the order of things.”
—Giambattista Vico (1688–1744)
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