My wife asked me about the word plan — was it related to plane? I had a vague idea that it was, that they were both from Latin plānus ‘level, flat,’ but I wasn’t at all sure, so I looked it up, and it turns out to be more complicated and interesting. The OED revised its entry in 2006, and the top sense is “An organized (and usually detailed) proposal according to which something is to be done; a scheme of action; a strategy; a programme, schedule” (first cite 1635 “In marshalling of our armies, and Battels, our moderne plans jump almost with those of the Ancient; yet our Sieges, beleaguring of townes, and instrumentes of war doe far exceede theirs”), while almost as early is “A drawing, sketch, or diagram of any object made by projection on a horizontal plane; esp. one showing the layout of a building or one floor of a building” (1664 “Andrea Palladio, to whom we are oblig’d for a very rare Collection of antique Plans and Profiles of all sorts of Buildings, design’d after a most excellent manner”); the etymology:
Partly < French plan drawing, sketch, or diagram made by projection on a horizontal plane showing the layout of a building, city, area, etc. (1547 in Middle French; 1545 as plant), drawing guiding the establishment of a building, or of a work which is to be realized (1563; 1538 as plant), set of measures adopted in order to accomplish something (1627) (< planter: see plant v.), and partly < French plan plane surface (1553 in Middle French), use as noun of plan, adjective (see plane adj.). Compare Italian pianta (a1529), Spanish planta (1600).
So it’s half plane and half plant. I like messy word histories.
The Robert dictionaries keep the two French plan as distinct lemmas, although the Dictionnaire historique mentions that in the 16th century plant was “confondu au cours du XVIe s. avec plan dont il était proche”. It has an early attestation of plan(t) from Villon’s jargon ballads, ” être en plant « être en prison », probablement d’après planter « rester immobile »”.
https://dle.rae.es/plano?m=form
The Spanish plano, from Latin planus, has a great many meanings including most of those commonly found in English. The sense of scheme is in the Spanish word plan, derived from plano.
https://dle.rae.es/plan?m=form
@cuchuflete
Confusingly enough (for me) Spanish also has “llano” – as visitors to South-East Columbia will know. Presumably they’re cognate.
@Peter G,
Right you are.
“ llano, na
Del lat. planus.
adj. Igual y extendido, sin altos ni bajos.
Sin.:
plano, liso, raso, terso, recto, igual”
“ plano, na
Del lat. planus.
adj. Llano, liso, sin relieves. Un terreno plano. U. t. en sent. fig. Un discurso plano.
Sin.:
liso, llano, raso, uniforme, homogéneo, regular“
It seems the etymologies don’t differentiate between words inherited from Latin (llano) and later learned loans from Latin (plano).
Which is a dereliction of duty.
Seeing that 1635 quote, something told me immediately that must be Hakewill’s Apology, but I can’t find any confirmation, and the OED won’t let me far enough in to see the attribution there.
I am prepared to be disabused, if anyone can.
Colombia: sorry for the Columbia.
@Peter Grubtal: It’s actually:
The author, who I don’t think I was familiar with, was “of Loghlands in Scotland, Gentleman.”
The book is online here; hopefully you can see “plans” in context here.
@Brett & Hat
thanks for putting me straight.
With the Apology first published in 1627 and later revisions, and Hakewill’s theme being very much contrasting Ancients and Moderns it seemed so obvious….
Person and his five books is an indication of how broad publishing had become by that period, of which I had little inkling.