plane tree

noun

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

1400-50; late Middle English

British Dictionary definitions for plane tree

plane tree

noun

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

Word Origin

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

plane tree in the Bible

Heb. 'armon (Gen. 30:37; Ezek. 31:8), rendered "chesnut" in the Authorized Version, but correctly "plane tree" in the Revised Version and the LXX. This tree is frequently found in Palestine, both on the coast and in the north. It usually sheds its outer bark, and hence its Hebrew name, which means "naked." (See CHESTNUT.)