Which is it - plain or plane

This should be fun.....

My recollection (as fuzzy as it may be) is that I've seen it primarily written as "plain".

When I see "plane", I tend to think of the things that fly in the sky, when I see "plain", I tend to think of some sort of surface.

Is that illogical enough or should I try harder? 🙂

My 0.04':

Plane is a mathematical term.
Plain is a geographic term that defines a land formation.

Edit - According to the Online Etymology Dictionary plane was "introduced (perhaps by influence of French plan in this sense) to differentiate the geometrical senses from plain, which in mid-16c."

i want to say floodplain, but this is not my area of expertise

The NSPS website uses "plain" in talking about certified floodplain surveyors.

The floodplain is the area inundated with water. The flood plane is the elevation marking the border between the floodplain and uplands not affected by the flood.

At least that's the way I would define it if I were in charge of the definitions department;-)

Plane Refers To The Geometrically Flat Concept Of Surveying

A plane is a geometrically uniform surface.

While a plain roughly resembles a plane surface, the plainess comes from the blahness and lack of distinguishing features. The plain came first. Plane the word derives from the flatness of the plain.

One could use plane surveying techniques to map a flood plain.

Paul in PA

Duane's Flood Plane Is A Non Uniform Sloping Surface

Not only does it slope upstream to downstream, but also from the outside of a curved fllodway to the inside. Superelevation so to speak.

Just thought I would contribute a little more to the mire.

Paul in PA

I don't know which but your question reminded me of something that happened years ago. We had mapped a large portion surrounding the Branson area for a local engineering company and of course it was a state plane coordinate project.
The engineering company in turn had lined up a local company to do staking and other construction related functions.
one day the engineering company's surveyor got a call from a party chief with the Branson company. Seems he had found a big problem and the stakeout data was not fitting the mapping.... Gary asked the local if he was on the state plane

to which the frustrated PC said hell no I'm out here on the job in my pickup.

That story was told to me years ago by Gary Sommers at a Missouri surveyors convention at dinner after a few cocktails and maybe does not seem so funny but Gary told it in a way that had the whole table laughing hard.

Gary passed away a while back after a long fight with cancer. He will be missed. A real "good guy".

When one is standing on the plain, he can look up and see "De plane, de plane!'.

I kinda miss ol' Herve. I once heard he was a stud muffin, literally.

Boy oh boy, I didn't see this going in this direction!

It is one word...floodplain.

DDSM, CFM
Member of the Arkansas Floodplain Management Association
:beer:

> I once heard he was a stud muffin, literally.

"literally?" What's a literal stud muffin?

You left out the comma

"literally?" What's a literal stud muffin?

I'm sure you intended to say, "What's a literal, stud muffin?"

It's either what the quarterback tosses when he's running sideways and tosses the ball a bit to the rear or it has something to do with water and the edges thereof.

You left out the comma

> I'm sure you intended to say, "What's a literal, stud muffin?"

lol....good one 😀

Older FIRM spelled out flood plain and newer maps has floodplain.

It's always Plane

as in:

The DOT employee just parachuted from the State Plane.

My head hurts. Let's not get into the to, too, two and for, fore, four discussions.:-D

Cartesian Plain

Cartesian Plane

> My head hurts. Let's not get into the to, too, two and for, fore, four discussions.:-D

Rats....maybe we could discuss its/it's, and who's/whose.....?