plane tree


noun
  1. any tree of the genus Platanus, especially P. occidentalis, the buttonwood or sycamore of North America, having palmately lobed leaves and bark that sheds.

Origin of plane tree

1
late Middle English word dating back to 1400–50

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use plane tree in a sentence

  • The sequestered spot, a seat beneath a plane tree, with a lonesome arc-lamp shining full upon it, was occupied.

  • Besides the oath of Socrates, “by the dog,” he is reported to have sworn variously by the goose and by the plane-tree.

  • It looked altogether different now in the chequered sunlight of the plane tree.

    Sinister Street, vol. 1 | Compton Mackenzie
  • There was a certain species of tree which grew in these countries called the plane-tree.

    Xerxes | Jacob Abbott
  • In the plane-tree, or sycamore, this inner wrapping of the bud is a little pelisse of soft yellow or tawny fur.

    A Year in the Fields | John Burroughs

British Dictionary definitions for plane tree

plane tree

noun
  1. any tree of the genus Platanus, having ball-shaped heads of fruits and leaves with pointed lobes: family Platanaceae. The hybrid P.  ×  acerifolia (London plane) is frequently planted in towns: Also called: platan

Origin of plane tree

1
C14 plane, from Old French, from Latin platanus, from Greek platanos, from platos wide, referring to the leaves

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012