The story
- Proto-Indo-European*h₂ews-
- Proto-Indo-European*h₂ewsér
- Proto-Hellenic*auhḗr
- Ancient Greekᾱ̓ήρ (āḗr)
- Ancient Greekπλανάω (planáō)
- Ancient Greekᾱ̓ερόπλᾰνος (āeróplănos)
- Frenchaéroplane
- English todayaeroplane
Borrowed from French aéroplane, from Ancient Greek ἀερόπλανος (aeróplanos, “wandering in air”), from ἀήρ (aḗr, “air”) + πλάνος (plános, “wandering”), equivalent to aero- + plane. First used by Joseph Pline in an 1855 patent.https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Aircraft_Design/NeHoahlhCGMC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Joseph+Pline+glider&pg=PA3&printsec=frontcover;https://books.google.at/books?id=fSQUAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA768&dq=Joseph+Pline+brevet+1855&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjgk5Cz_a_wAhXZhf0HHdjNAJwQ6AEwAnoECAIQAg#v=onepage&q=Joseph%20Pline%20brevet%201855&f=false
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.