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monoplane

 - 4 dictionary results

mon⋅o⋅plane

  [mon-uh-pleyn]
Use monoplane in a Sentence
–noun
1. an airplane with one main sustaining surface or one set of wings.
2. Nautical. a planing craft the bottom of which is in an unbroken fore-and-aft line.
Origin:
1905–10; mono- + plane 1

Related forms:
mon⋅o⋅plan⋅ist, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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mon·o·plane   (mŏn'ə-plān')   
n.  An airplane with only one pair of wings.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

monoplane 
1907, coined from mono- + (aero)plane. In old planes the wings formed a single surface running across the fuselage.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Encyclopedia

monoplane

type of aircraft with a single pair of wings. The monoplane design has been nearly universally adopted over multiplane configurations because airflow interference between adjacent wings reduces efficiency. The first monoplane was constructed by the Romanian inventor Trajan Vuia, who made a flight of 12 m (40 feet) on March 18, 1906. Louis Bleriot of France built a monoplane in 1907 and flew it across the English Channel two years later. Monoplane design proved itself conclusively during World War II, and since then the craft has completely supplanted the biplane except for special purposes. Compare biplane.

Learn more about monoplane with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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