plann.
/plan/, U.S. /plæn/ I. A design, a proposal.
1.
a. An organized (and usually detailed) proposal according to which something is to be done; a scheme of action; a strategy; a programme, schedule. Also in weakened sense: a method or way of proceeding; an intention or ambition for the future (usually in plural).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > intention > planning > [noun] > a plan
redeeOE
devicec1290
casta1300
went1303
ordinancec1385
intentc1386
imaginationa1393
drifta1535
draught1535
forecast1535
platform1547
ground-plat?a1560
table1560
convoy1565
design1565
plat1574
ground-plota1586
plot1587
reach1587
theory1593
game1595
projectment1611
projecting1616
navation1628
approach1633
view1634
plan1635
systema1648
sophism1657
manage1667
brouillon1678
speculationa1684
sketch1697
to take measures1698
method1704
scheme1704
lines1760
outline1760
measure1767
restorative1821
ground plan1834
strategy1834
programme1837
ticket1842
project1849
outline plan1850
layout1867
draft1879
dart1882
lurk1916
schema1939
lick1955
the mind > will > intention > planning > [noun] > arranging > scheduling > schedule
plan1635
1635 D. Person Varieties iii. 113 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.
1692 T. Brown tr. M.-C. d'Aulnoy Mem. Court Spain 123 She..drew for her self a Plan of the conduct she was to follow, and this effectually hindred her from being turned out of her Post.
1713 J. Addison Cato iii. v. 74 Remember..The gen'rous plan of pow'r deliver'd down From age to age, by your renown'd forefathers.
1749 G. Jeffreys in J. Duncombe Lett. Several Eminent Persons Deceased (1773) II. 213 I admire the execution of his plan, but not the plan itself.
1803 W. Wordsworth Rob Roy's Grave 38 The good old rule..the simple plan, That they should take, who have the power, And they should keep who can.
1850 ‘Bat’ Cricketer's Man. (rev. ed.) 50 It is a good plan to have those shoes spiked which have been worn.
1892 B. F. Westcott Gospel of Life 279 All history is in one sense the fulfilment of a divine plan.
1910 E. M. Forster Howards End xxxi. 256 Helen..wrote an unsatisfactory postcard from the shores of the Lake of Garda, saying that her plans were uncertain and had better be ignored.
1946 Liberty 15 June 86/3 His plan is to smother Conn with a fusillade of punches soon after the opening bell.
1991 U.S. News & World Rep. 27 May 36/1 A cadet asked him what his plans were after he retires from the Army in August.
b. plan of attack n. originally Military an offensive strategy; a scheme to defeat, capture, or prevail over someone or something, or a method of achieving this.
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1741 Vice-Admiral Vernon Let. 1 Apr. in Authentic Papers relating to Exped. against Carthagena (1744) 2 On the 6th I form'd my Plan of Attack on the Forts of St. Jago and St. Philip.
1796 Times 6 Sept. 3/2 Opposition..suddenly changes its plan of attack to a charge of meanly sacrificing the national dignity by servile submission to a neutral power.
1866 W. Collins Armadale II. iii. i. 10 Mrs. Milroy was left alone again, to review her plan of attack by the new light that had now been thrown on Miss Gwilt.
1899 B. Stoker Dracula xxiii. 314 With a swift glance around the room, he at once laid out our plan of attack, and..placed us each in position.
1915 Elyria (Ohio) Evening Telegram 10 May (City ed.) William Barnes spent Sunday discussing with his lawyers the plan of attack to be made on Roosevelt.
1955 D. W. Treadgold Lenin & his Rivals v. 106 Lenin's ‘conspiratorial’ groups would presumably work toward an armed uprising by smuggling weapons and drawing up plans of attack.
1991 Mid-Atlantic Game & Fish Apr. 30/2 Another popular plan of attack is to use a downrigger, but run the lures at a shallow depth.
c. plan of campaign n. (a) a general scheme or programme for conducting a particular project or operation; (b) Irish History a manifesto (published in 1886) for a campaign against landlords who refused to reduce rents, proposing that tenants should offer to pay what they considered to be a fair rent, and that this money, if refused, should be paid into a central fund for the support of evicted tenants; the campaign conducted (from 1886 to 1890) on the basis of this manifesto.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > intention > planning > [noun] > planning a course of action > plan of intended course of action
plan of campaign1780
route map1816
action plan1889
end run1902
strategy1944
game plan1957
scenario1962
1780 T. Simes Treat. Mil. Sci. 16 By such kind of accidents, the plan of campaign is intirely destroyed.
1797 Times 22 Mar. 3/2 The Popular Society of Limoges sent a plan of campaign to completely annihilate the rebels of La Vendée.
1837 T. P. Thompson Let. 18 Mar. in Exercises (1842) IV. 229 Change your whole plan of campaign... Form yourselves everywhere into associations to gain knowledge which is power, and to communicate it through the press.
1886 United Ireland 20 Nov. 272/2 The ‘Plan of Campaign’ as laid down in United Ireland of October 23rd.
1886 Pall Mall Gaz. 24 Nov. 2/1 The plan of campaign is..the proposal that whenever a landlord refuses to settle at the abatement proposed by his tenants..the reduced rent of all the tenantry is to be banked with an unknown individual, who is to act as paymaster and dole out weekly allowances to such of the tenants as are evicted by the landlord for non-payment of rent.
1894 Westm. Gaz. 22 Aug. 1/2 What we demand is not a display of tub-thumping at the fag-end of a Session,..but a deliberate plan of campaign, carefully thought out and doggedly pursued.
1917 W. S. Churchill in World Crisis (1927) III. ii. 378 It is not possible to settle the question of man-power without a clear idea of the plan of campaign.
1991 A. Campbell Sidewinder v. 63 From the glint in the old man's eyes, I know he has something up his sleeve—perhaps a plan of campaign!
d. (according) to plan: as intended or projected; without any major problems or delays. Frequently in to go (according) to plan.
ΚΠ
1837 Brighton Patriot 3 Oct. 4/3 Mr. Lamprell moved that they be allowed to put in the drain according to plan.]
1893 N.Y. Times 31 July 2/4 After the manœuvres, according to plan, the entire active force was mobilized at Agassio.
1919 Times 9 Sept. 11 Here indeed, to use the language of the German bulletins, everything went ‘according to plan’.
1933 W. H. Auden in New Oxf. Outlook May 73 To-morrow if everything goes to plan, To-morrow morning you'll be a man.
1964 L. Nkosi Rhythm of Violence ii. ii. 31 Did everything go according to plan?
1971 P. D. James Shroud for Nightingale ii. 41 We haven't used the demonstration room since Nurse Pearce's death but otherwise the set is continuing to work according to plan.
1998 Balloons & Airships July 42/2 Friday's press morning..went to plan, the assembled throng drifting off across the docks and over the Test.
e. A scheme for the regular payment of contributions towards a pension, savings account, or insurance policy (cf. pension plan n. at pension n. Compounds 2).
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1912 Science 2 Feb. 198/2 This plan, sometimes called the ‘Compulsory Savings Plan’, was put forward as a remedy for the situation developed by the large number of superannuated employees in the civil service.
1947 Accounting Rev. 22 55/1 The effect..of any profit-sharing bonus plan is to give participating employees ‘a stake in the business’.
1984 Which? Mar. 111/3 The insurance company deducts various charges from your premiums to cover the costs of setting up and running the plan.
1996 L. Gough Choosing Pension v. 71 Your contributions to the plan buy ‘units’ in a pension fund which is a collection of many people's contributions.
f. A scheme for the economic development of a country, esp. one running for a specified length of time, as four-year plan, etc. five-year plan: see five-year plan n. at five adj. and n. Compounds 2.
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society > trade and finance > management of money > management of national resources > [noun]
political economya1687
finance1763
economic system1815
economy1892
plan1927
1927 Times 2 Dec. 13/1 The Government has drafted a five-year plan, and even if this is fully realized production will increase by only 12 per cent.
1937 Ann. Reg. 1936 188 Herr Hitler accordingly announced a Four-Year Plan for Germany with the object of making Germany independent of supplies of raw materials from abroad.
1949 ‘G. Orwell’ Nineteen Eighty-four i. 48 Some triumph of over-production in the Ninth Three-Year Plan.
1962 Listener 20 Dec. 1041/2 There is no powerful spokesman inside the British Cabinet whose job it is to concentrate on the Plan.
1974 B. Pearce tr. S. Amin Accumulation on World Scale II. iii. 433 In a planned socialist economy, the banks strictly limit advances to enterprises to the amounts laid down in the plan.
1993 U.S. News & World Rep. 1 Mar. 28/2 Clinton's four-year plan calls for $48 billion of new spending on public infrastructure.
2.
a. 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. Cf. elevation n. 11.See also ground plan n. 1.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > industry > building or constructing > [noun] > plans of buildings or structures
ground-plot1563
model1570
ichnography1598
skiagraphy1636
plane1639
skiagraph1648
plain1659
plan1664
planography?1668
scheme1703
ground plan1731
working plan1767
working drawing1785
detail1819
floor-plan1867
Z-plan1887
block plan1909
master plan1914
society > communication > representation > a plastic or graphic representation > graphic representation > drawing plans or diagrams > [noun] > a plan or diagram
plat1508
plot1551
plack1552
placket1552
lineament1570
draught1580
landscape1642
plan1664
speculum1676
chart1880
1664 J. Evelyn tr. R. Fréart Parallel Antient Archit. i. vi. 22 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.
1706 Phillips's New World of Words (new ed.) Plan, a Draught, Model, or Ground-plot; a Design, Ground-work, or Project of any piece of Work.
1712 J. James tr. A.-J. Dézallier d'Argenville Theory & Pract. Gardening 87 Designed upon Rolls of Paper, call'd Plans.
1728 E. Chambers Cycl. Plan, in Architecture, &c. is particularly used for a Draught of a Building, such as it appears, or is intended to appear, on the Ground; shewing the Extent, Division, and Distribution of its Area into Apartments, Rooms, Passages, &c... Geometrical Plan is that wherein the solid and vacant Parts are represented in their natural Proportion.
1793 J. Smeaton Narr. Edystone Lighthouse (ed. 2) §97 An exact Plan of the surface of the rock, as reduced to an horizontal plane.
1840 Civil Engineer & Architect's Jrnl. 3 43/1 A plan of the trussed foot-bridge..exhibiting the trussing and cast iron frames.
1878 Scribner's Monthly Nov. 132 The plan was drawn by M. de Lery, engineer, of New France.
1937 Amer. Home Apr. 166/1 (advt.) ‘Small House Plans’ is printed in two colors, profusely illustrated with photographs, wash drawings and detailed floor plans.
1954 Househ. Guide & Almanac (News of World) 177/2 When your architect has produced these plans, he will submit copies to the surveyor of your local authority.
1993 Collins Compl. DIY Man. (new ed.) x. 421/1 Note the overall dimensions including the diagonals to draw an accurate plan.
b. A detailed map of a town, district, etc., drawn on a relatively large scale.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > earth sciences > geography > map-making > map > [noun] > plan or scheme
survey1610
plant1624
plane1639
scheme1649
field plot1659
plan1700
1700 J. Dryden To Duke of Ormond in Fables sig. C There was engraven on it [sc. a shield], Plans of Cities, and Maps of Countries, which Ajax could not comprehend, but look'd on them as stupidly as his Fellow-Beast the Lion.
1878 T. H. Huxley Physiography (ed. 2) 5 When the portion of country delineated is but small, the sketch is generally termed a plan.
1915 Times 5 Jan. 8/6 The maps chosen on this occasion include a large scale plan of the Western area of operations.
1930 M. H. Dodds Hist. Northumberland XIII. 37 A colliery known as Baker's Main is shown on a plan of 1788.
1996 Canad. Geographic Sept. 50/1 The inventor of geographic profiling..is hoping that by trading the map's two-dimensions for three..he'll be able to pick up on the kind of geographic details a simple street plan can't provide.
c. in plan: as projected upon a horizontal plane (opposed to in section).
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > horizontal position or condition > in a horizontal line or plane [phrase]
on, upon a level1719
in plan1833
1833 J. F. W. Herschel Astronomy viii. 244 We see their [sc. the planets'] evolutions, not in plan, but in section.
1853 A. Ure Dict. Arts (ed. 4) I. 1099 Fig. 818. represents in section, and fig. 817. in plan, the famous cupola furnace for casting iron employed at the Royal Foundry in Berlin.
1910 Encycl. Brit. I. 869/2 Fig. 10 shows in plan the different effects of (a) shrapnel and of (b) high-explosive.
1970 N. Pevsner Cambridgeshire (Buildings of Eng.) (ed. 2) 202 It is a straightforward parallelogram in plan, and in elevation a most elegant blend of the English Wren tradition with the new Palladianism.
2000 Structr. Engineer 1 Feb. 4 (advt.) IT works like you do, allowing you to model in plan and elevation before verifying the structural model in 3-D.
3. A design according to which elements of something are arranged; a scheme of organization; a configuration, arrangement, or type of structure (esp. regarded as the product of design).
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > arrangement or fact of being arranged > [noun] > scheme of arrangement
plan1733
layout1852
1681 J. Dryden King's Declaration Defended 13 What will become of those fine Speculative Wits, who drew the Plan of this new Government, and who overthrew the old?
1697 tr. L. D. Le Comte Mem. Journey China ii. 242 Amongst the several Models and Plans of Government which the Antients framed, we shall perhaps meet with none so perfect and exact as is that of the Chinese Monarchy.
1712 J. Addison Spectator 19 Apr. 1/2 The Plan of Milton's Poem is of an infinitely greater extent, and fills the Mind with many more astonishing Circumstances.
1733 A. Pope Ess. Man: Pt. I 1 A mighty Maze! of walks without a Plan.
1790 E. Burke Refl. Revol. in France Pref. p. iv A different plan..might be more favourable to a commodious division and distribution of his matter. View more context for this quotation
1828 W. M. Thackeray Let. in Daily News 15 Apr. (1898) 6/2 I have not yet drawn out a plan for my stories, but certain germs thereof are budding in my mind.
1855 W. S. Dallas in Orr's Circle Sci.: Org. Nature II. 202 Animals are constructed upon five primary types or plans, of which all the varied forms presented by these creatures are but modifications.
1889 Harper's Mag. July 189/1 The stations, built on a uniform plan, presented the same feature all along the line.
1915 St. Nicholas June 700/1 It is designed after the plan of a drill, or an egg-beater.
1995 New Scientist 16 Dec. 17/1 A phylum is a group of creatures which share a distinct body plan.
4.
a. Methodism. A document listing the preachers for all the services in a circuit during a given period.
ΘΚΠ
society > faith > church government > member of the clergy > preacher > [noun] > Methodist itinerant > document listing preachers throughout circuit
plan1776
1776 J. Wesley Let. 24 June (1931) VI. 224 Fix a regular plan for the local preachers and see that they keep it.
1807 J. Nightingale Portraiture of Methodism xxix. 304 A local-preacher's plan, is a paper properly divided and subdivided into columns and squares, on which the names of all the preachers are inserted, the respective places of their preaching-appointments, and the dates of the month... One of these plans is given to every local-preacher.
1851 J. Loutit Let. 17 Dec. in W. R. Ward Early Victorian Methodism (1976) 411 While it is said that ‘no person shall receive a plan as a Local-Preacher without the approbation of a Local-Preachers' Meeting’..there is no express arrangement for his removal.
1898 B. Gregory Side Lights ii. 25 Village Methodism was built up at first to a very great extent by the institution of ‘taking in the preachers’... Indeed, by a genial and judicious ministerial spirit, the ‘Dinner Plan’ may be made no inconsiderable accessory to the Circuit Plan.
1925 F. Hodges My Adventures as Labour-Leader iii. 19 In due course my name was inscribed upon the ‘plan’ as a regular local preacher.
1957 R. F. Wearmouth Social & Polit. Infl. Methodism in 20th Cent. vii. 117 In due time he was nominated for the preachers' plan, and in 1869–70 became a Primitive Methodist local preacher.
1980 Oxf. Diocesan Mag. May 5/1 The Ordained Circuit Ministers and the Circuit Local Preachers commit themselves three months in advance to taking appointments on the Plan.
b. gen. A diagram, a table.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > representation > a plastic or graphic representation > graphic representation > drawing plans or diagrams > [noun] > diagram > tabular form
tableOE
tabling?c1450
tablement1551
chart1792
tableau1792
tabulation1837
plan1855
1855 E. Smith in Orr's Circle Sci.: Org. Nature II. 151 Linnæan System..Reference to the annexed plan will show that the first eleven classes are named according to the number of stamens... The following tables contain a complete summary of the Linnæan plan of classification.
1928 Times 28 Feb. 18/6 You select from a train plan the seat you desire to occupy.
1977 Time Out 28 Jan. 43/2 Check seating plan before buying tickets as many seats have restricted sight lines.
1990 I. Daria Fashion Cycle 16 The line plan shows how Dennis plans to allocate his division's $45.2 million budget.
II. A plane.† 6.
5. † b. Sculpture. The plane on which the figures in a bas-relief are raised above the ground (usually one of several such planes giving varying degrees of relief to different figures in a design). Obsolete. rare.
a. In a perspective drawing: any of several imaginary planes perpendicular to the line of vision forming a grid within which objects represented appear to diminish in size in proportion to the distance between the viewer and the planes. rare.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > painting and drawing > perspective > [noun] > planes, lines, or points
horizontal plane1638
eye-pointa1650
table1670
principal point1671
plan1678
geometrical plane1695
terrestrial line1704
vertical plane1704
baseline1724
station line1724
middle ground1753
picture plane1771
middle distance1778
primitive plane1798
seat1815
mid-distance1828
ground-plane1833
station point1859
mid-ground1864
no-sky line1927
1678 E. Phillips New World of Words (new ed.) Plan, (in Perspective) that part of the operation, by the degradation of distance, whereof the figure to be drawn or painted, is by a line deduced from the visual point proportionably fore-shortened or diminished.
1728 E. Chambers Cycl. (at cited word) Perspective Plan is that conducted and exhibited by Degradations, or Diminutions, according to the Rules of Perspective.
1731 W. Halfpenny Perspective made Easy 1 To find the Perspective Plan of a Square or Cube fixt above the Eye, whose Point of Sight is in a Right Line, with the Middle of the Object.
1904 G. Saintsbury Hist. Crit. III. 425 To receive and express more or less detailed images, and add, as it were, not merely stroke after stroke, but plan after plan, to the picture.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > plastic art > [noun] > relief > low-relief > plane of
plan1781
1781 J. Reynolds Disc. Royal Acad. 23 Making different plans in the same bas-relievos.
a. Geometry. = plane n.3 1a. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > number > geometry > surface > [noun] > plane
plaina1398
plane1604
plan1714
primitive plane1798
homaloid1850
biplane1870
1714 Philos. Trans. 1713 (Royal Soc.) 28 244 It is always placed upon the same Plan or Level with the Sprig that bears the Berry.
b. A flat surface on which something stands. Obsolete. rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > low position > [noun] > condition of being placed under > that which lies under > base on which a thing rests > surface or area
floor1556
basal area1610
bedding1611
bed1633
plan1723
floor area1887
1723 E. Chambers tr. S. Le Clerc Treat. Archit. I. 8 A Base adds a Grace to a Column; and..makes it stand the more firmly on its Plan.
Compounds
C1.
plan-drawer n.
ΚΠ
1834 Times 17 July 7/1 Duguet and Petit have been making recruits among the plan-drawers and modelers.
1905 Academy 7 Oct. 1027/2 The simple manner accepted by all plan-drawers, and intelligible to all plan-readers.
2002 Building Design (Nexis) 5 July 10 Neither can I compete any longer with the army of unqualified plan drawers and private-jobbers because they don't need to concern themselves with professional expenses and standards.
plan-maker n.
ΚΠ
1783 V. Knox Ess. (new ed.) II. clviii. 303 Why always employ a professed plan-maker?
1895 Century Feb. 500/1 He also declares, and Salicetti too repeatedly asseverated, that Buonaparte was the ‘man, the plan-maker,’ of the Robespierres.
2004 Saigon Times Daily (Nexis) 15 Apr. Plan-makers believe that the city needs to have 12 more bridges and two more tunnels across the Saigon River.
plan-reader n.
ΚΠ
1905 Academy 7 Oct. 1027/2 The simple manner accepted by all plan-drawers, and intelligible to all plan-readers.
1991 E. B. Roberts Entrepreneurs in High Technol. vii. 201 In half the cases the plan communicates that the company is targeting a very specific market... The plan reader..can then worry about whether or not that target constitutes a real and attractive market opportunity.
C2.
plan holder n. a person contributing to a pension plan, insurance scheme, etc.; cf. sense 1d.
ΚΠ
1956 Press Gaz. (Hillsboro, Ohio) 11 Dec. 9/2 New Insurance Dividends Coming For War Veterans... The permanent plan holders, numbering about 330,000, will receive the remaining $25,000,000.
1965 Times 23 July 12/7 The planholder contributes £2 a month or more on which he gets some tax relief.
2003 Amer. Banker (Nexis) 13 Mar. 6 Under the bill, financial firms could be liable only if they act against the plan holders' best interests, and employers could be liable if they contract with unregulated advisers.
plan manager n. a person responsible for a particular project or scheme; (now) esp. a person or company responsible for investing the contributions to a pension plan or similar scheme.
ΚΠ
1898 C. G. Dawes Jrnl. 28 Jan. in B. N. Timmons Jrnl. McKinley Years (1950) 141 The statement made by the Plan Manager, was as follows:... It was the purpose of the plan to collect..for the protection of the creditors, the liabilities of the Stockholders and Directors [etc.].
1969 Jrnl. Risk & Insurance 36 433 Reasonable legislation providing for improved disclosure of information by pension plans and for clear-cut responsibility of plan managers appears to be in order.
1997 What Investm. Mar. (Pract. Guide to PEPs Suppl.) 3/2 There are a large number of registered plan managers looking for your PEP money.
plan position indicator n. a screen on which is shown a maplike display of the positions of objects detected by a rotating radar scanner.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sight and vision > optical instruments > instruments for projecting image > [noun] > visual display units
screen1925
plan position indicator1942
scope1945
1942 Instr. Bk. for Navy Models ASG, ASG-1, Aircraft Radar Equipm. (Philco Corp. for U.S. Navy Bureau of Ships) iii. 8/2 The Receiver-Indicator contains a Plan Position Indicator..for the use of the Radar operator.
1974 Sci. Amer. Apr. 51/2 The task selected by Beatty was the familiar one of detecting ‘targets’ simulating aircraft on the cathode ray screen of a radar plan-position indicator, similar to the screens monitored by air-traffic controllers at most airports.
1980 J. H. Crook Evol. Human Consciousness ii. 24 This process seems to occur in much the same way as a plan position indicator in a radar system monitors the movement of targets recorded on the radar sets by reference to the stable map of the background locality.
plan view n. a view of an object as projected on a horizontal plane.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > representation > a plastic or graphic representation > graphic representation > drawing plans or diagrams > [noun] > a plan or diagram > plan drawing
platform?1544
groundwork1574
ground-plota1586
projecture1610
profile1665
protraction1669
inspection1694
pantarch1694
plan view1847
stereogram1868
planform1937
1847 Sci. Amer. 31 July 356/2 Fig. 2 represents a plan view of a skelp or bar of iron, before it is converted into a tube.
1850 T. Tredgold Steam Engine (ed. 3) I. iv. 17 These dimensions are given in the plan view, Plate IV., where the cylinder and steam chest are shown in section.
1990 I. R. Kenyon Gen. Relativity (BNC) 138 Figure 10.5 shows a plan view of a large Michelson interferometer.
Derivatives
ˈplan-like adj. rare
ΚΠ
1855 J. Drummond in Todd's Cycl. Anat. & Physiol. V. 458/1 The regular and plan-like manner in which the pulsations of the heart..take place.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2006; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
planv.
/plan/, U.S. /plæn/ 1.
a. transitive. To arrange in advance (an action or proposed proceeding); to devise, contrive, or formulate (a project or manner of proceeding); to lay out in a plan. Also with clause as object.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > intention > planning > plan [verb (transitive)]
forethinkc897
bethinka1225
compass1297
contrivec1330
ordain1340
conjectc1380
imaginec1380
cast1382
ordaina1387
advisec1400
forecast1413
imagec1450
ordainc1450
project1477
foreminda1535
invent1539
aimc1540
practise1550
plat1556
trive1573
meditate1582
patterna1586
plot1589
platform1592
design1594
chew1600
forelay1605
to map out1618
to cut out1619
agitate1629
laya1631
plod1631
cut1645
calculate1654
concert1702
to scheme out1716
plan1718
model1725
to rough out1738
to lay out1741
plan1755
prethink1760
shape1823
programme1834
pre-plan1847
encompass1882
target1948
the mind > will > intention > planning > plan [verb] > plan to do something
lay1573
plota1586
to cast aboutc1590
to put into (also in) practice1592
plat1596
project1600
to lay abouta1618
to lay out1651
plan1718
1718 A. Philips Let. 10 Oct. in Free-thinker lviii. f. 1/1 In the Topicks, which are of the greatest Moment, he has observed a Method, which he had planned out to Himself from the Beginning.
1721 J. Addison Wks. III. 587 When a man has planned his discourse, he finds a great many thoughts rising out of every head, that do not offer themselves upon the general survey of a subject.
1782 F. Burney Cecilia III. v. xi. 120 Cecilia the whole time was planning how to take her leave.
1846 C. Dickens Dombey & Son (1848) iii. 20 I'm agreeable..to live friendly..while Master Paul continues a permanency, if the means can be planned out.
1860 J. Tyndall Glaciers of Alps i. xvii. 121 We had planned an ascent of Monte Rosa together.
1873 ‘S. Coolidge’ What Katy Did xi. 230 Few visitors came to interrupt her, so she could plan out her hours and keep to the plans.
1897 ‘P. Warung’ Tales Old Regime 217 He had planned a murder or a mutiny on purpose to obtain a trial in Hobart or Sydney.
1908 L. M. Montgomery Anne of Green Gables xxxviii. 422 In winter I can come home Fridays. We'll keep a horse for that. Oh, I have it all planned out, Marilla.
1925 W. Cather Professor's House iii. i. 259 They had planned a third summer together, in Paris, but it never came off.
1994 C. McWilliam Debatable Land (1995) vii. 165 He planned the country drives he would take them on if he could borrow a pick-up.
b. transitive. With infinitive: to intend or propose to do something.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > intention > planning > plan [verb (transitive)]
forethinkc897
bethinka1225
compass1297
contrivec1330
ordain1340
conjectc1380
imaginec1380
cast1382
ordaina1387
advisec1400
forecast1413
imagec1450
ordainc1450
project1477
foreminda1535
invent1539
aimc1540
practise1550
plat1556
trive1573
meditate1582
patterna1586
plot1589
platform1592
design1594
chew1600
forelay1605
to map out1618
to cut out1619
agitate1629
laya1631
plod1631
cut1645
calculate1654
concert1702
to scheme out1716
plan1718
model1725
to rough out1738
to lay out1741
plan1755
prethink1760
shape1823
programme1834
pre-plan1847
encompass1882
target1948
1755 A. Ramsay Epist. to J. Clerk 64 Debts I abhor, and plan to be Frae shochling trade and danger free.
1796 F. Burney Camilla I. ii. i. 120 No arguments, however, relative to disposing of the young ladies, had any weight with him; he had long planned to give Eugenia to Clermont Lynmere.
1853 E. C. Gaskell Ruth I. v. 130 She succeeded in turning out a gentleman and lady, who were only planning to remain till the ensuing Saturday.
1885 R. F. Burton tr. Arabian Nights' Entertainm. I. iv. 49 He jaloused him and planned to do him a harm.
1938 Sir G. Arthur Not Worth Reading xiii. 192 He [sc. Kitchener] added that he planned to go from strength to strength.
1992 News of World 15 Nov. 37/6 Laundry worker Violet Oliver is planning to splash out after cleaning up £12,000 on News of the World bingo.
c. intransitive. To make plans; to make provision for.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > intention > planning > plan [verb (intransitive)]
purveyc1300
propose1340
castc1380
worka1393
purposea1400
devisec1400
becast1563
plot1607
factitate1616
project1631
to cast, lay a scheme1704
plan1776
to plan on1914
1776 T. Paine Common Sense v When we are planning for posterity, we ought to remember that virtue is not hereditary.
1777 C. Reeve Champion of Virtue 93 Some are born to plan, others to execute.
1795 J. J. C. Timaeus tr. F. Schiller Cabal & Love i. vi. 13 You know I am constantly planning for your happiness—Give me your hand, Ferdinand; I have always your welfare at heart.
1801 G. Dyer Poems 143 Oh! may the wise contriving mind, that knows To plan for human welfare.
1857 E. C. Gaskell Life C. Brontë I. viii. 161 They talked over past cares, and troubles; they planned for the future.
1896 C. M. Sheldon His Brother's Keeper v. 107 When Aunt Royal comes, I mean to plan for something besides all this.
1899 H. Begbie Handy Man iii The trader may plot and plan.
1937 Amer. Home Apr. 93/2 (advt.) You can plan for complete air conditioning winter or summer or simply cooling in summer.
1990 Quarterly (U.S.) Fall 83 Jim and Sam have planned for the trip for months.
2001 N. Griffiths Sheepshagger 74 Ianto's three tablemates are hunched in a huddle whispering and planning.
d. intransitive. to plan ahead: to prepare for a future event or time.
ΚΠ
1869 St. Joseph (Mich.) Herald 23 Oct. 3/2 She then has a chance to plan ahead, and exercise her best powers of management.
1916 H. G. Wells What is Coming? vii. 157 A country of educated men acts coherently, smites swiftly, plans ahead.
1973 Sociol. of Educ. 46 413 These [Mexican-American] students were far more fatalistic about their futures and were more skeptical about the value of planning ahead than their Anglo classmates.
2001 Canoe & Kayak Mar. 40/1 There's benefit in scouting the riverscape from a safe spot, planning ahead so the ride is anticipatory and smooth.
e. intransitive. colloquial. to plan on: to intend to carry out (some action); to anticipate or be prepared for.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > intention > planning > plan [verb (intransitive)]
purveyc1300
propose1340
castc1380
worka1393
purposea1400
devisec1400
becast1563
plot1607
factitate1616
project1631
to cast, lay a scheme1704
plan1776
to plan on1914
1914 E. R. Burroughs Tarzan of Apes xxvii. 370 She is planning on our going up there the first of the week.
1926 Amer. Oxonian July 99 If I were planning on going after a Rhodes Scholarship next year, I should read a great deal on foreign affairs.
1936 L. C. Douglas White Banners ix. 195 We had not planned on such a large house.
1963 M. Shadbolt in C. K. Stead N.Z. Short Stories (1966) 2nd Ser. 314 We don't plan on any drinking.
1977 H. Kaplan Damascus Cover iv. 35 Ari pressed for a date when he could plan on going abroad.
1996 Mountain View (Middlebury, Vermont) 24 Apr. 3/5 If you plan on travelling in the beginning of summer, the nights will bring a slight chill, so jeans and sweats are necessary.
2. transitive. To devise or design (something to be constructed, esp. a building).
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > representation > a plastic or graphic representation > graphic representation > drawing plans or diagrams > make plan or diagram of [verb (transitive)]
to set down in plat1508
to plat forth1556
delineate1579
plot1588
plat1589
trace1599
to line outa1616
lineament1638
to lay down1669
design1697
plan1734
draught1828
1734 J. Ralph Crit. Rev. Publick Buildings 4 By the water-side, from the Bridge to the Temple, he had planned a long and broad wharf, where he designed to have ranged all the halls that belong to the several companies of the city.
1743 A. Pope Dunciad (rev. ed.) i. 272 Here she plann'd th' Imperial seat of Fools.
a1793 G. White Invitation in Nat. Hist. Selborne (1813) 563 Plan the pavilion, airy, light and true.
1823 P. Nicholson New Pract. Builder 188 In planning a large edifice, particular attention must be paid to the situation of the stairs.
1893 W. P. Courtney in Academy 13 May 413/1 The gardens were planned by the best landscape gardeners of the day.
1920 E. Wharton Age of Innocence iii. 19 The house had been boldly planned with a ballroom.
1996 Independent 21 Feb. 16/6 In the 1960s, Bosence planned and opened a dye house and printing classroom for the new Adult Education Centre.
3. † b. transitive. To mark out into divisions, as in a plan or diagram. In quot. 1835-6 figurative. Obsolete. rare.
a. transitive. To make a plan of (something existing, esp. a piece of ground or a building); to indicate or represent on a plan. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > representation > a plastic or graphic representation > graphic representation > drawing plans or diagrams > make plan or diagram of [verb (transitive)] > of something existing
plan1748
1748 B. Robins & R. Walter Voy. round World by Anson Introd. sig. d2 Employed in drawing such coasts, and planning such harbours, as the ship should touch at.
1764 in J. A. Picton City of Liverpool: Select. Munic. Rec. (1886) II. 221 Ordered that Mr. Eyes do plan the Corporation Estate, and colour it.
1828 O. Gregory Hutton's Course Math. (ed. 9) II. 66 Set down the measures properly in a field-book..and plan them after returning from the field, by laying down all the lines and angles.
1904 M. R. James Ghost-stories Antiquary 184 It occurred to me that..very few of the English preceptories have ever been properly planned.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > representation > a plastic or graphic representation > graphic representation > drawing plans or diagrams > make plan or diagram of [verb (transitive)] > mark out into divisions
plan1835
1835–6 Todd's Cycl. Anat. & Physiol. I. 248/1 The bone itself is planned out into small circular dimples.
4. transitive. To include (a person) in a plan; (Methodism) to include (a preacher) in a plan (plan n. 4a).
ΘΚΠ
society > faith > church government > member of the clergy > preacher > [verb (transitive)] > include preacher in plan
plan1796
1796 Extract Minutes Conversat. Preachers 28 Let no one be permitted to preach, who will not meet in Class, and who is not regularly planned by the Superintendant of the Circuit where he resides.
1846 Round Preacher 29 I..found that I was planned in the circuit-town once in three weeks.
1898 J. Ackworth Scowcroft Critics 244 The next night Squire was ‘planned’ to conduct the weeknight service.
1899 A. Quiller-Couch Ship of Stars ix. 75 There's a new preacher planned to the Bible Christians, down to Innis.
1950 S. Redfern Methodist Journey iii. 21 As a rule, two or three preachers were planned at the villages en route, so the circuit trap was used.
1961 Times 20 Jan. 14/6 ‘Then we'll plan you in the circuit here,’ he said briskly.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2006; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
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n.1635
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