plage

[ plahzh ]
/ plɑʒ /

noun

a sandy bathing beach at a seashore resort.
Astronomy. a luminous area in the sun's chromosphere that appears in the vicinity of a sunspot.

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Origin of plage

First recorded in 1885–90; from French, from Italian piaggia, from Late Latin plagia “shore,” noun use of feminine of plagius “horizontal,” from Greek plágia (neuter plural) “sides (of a mountain), flanks (of an army),” noun use of plágios “oblique, slanting, sideways”; see plagio-

Words nearby plage

placoderm, placoid, plafond, plagal, plagal cadence, plage, plagiarism, plagiarize, plagiary, plagio-, plagiocephaly
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for plage

British Dictionary definitions for plage

plage
/ (plɑːʒ) /

noun

astronomy a bright patch in the sun's chromosphere

Word Origin for plage

French, literally: beach, strand
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for plage

plage
[ pläzh ]

A bright and intensely hot area in the Sun's chromosphere, usually associated with a sunspot. It is typically brighter than its surroundings but may be indistinguishable due to lack of contrast. Plages are sources of strong ultraviolet radiation.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.