plage

American  

[plahzh] / plɑʒ /

noun

1. 

   a sandy bathing beach at a seashore resort.

2. Astronomy. a luminous area in the sun's chromosphere that appears in the vicinity of a sunspot.

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plage British  

/ plɑːʒ /

noun

1. astronomy a bright patch in the sun's chromosphere

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plage Scientific  

/ pläzh /

1. 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.

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Etymology

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-

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

plage

He believes the artist is referencing the student uprising in Paris in 1968, which had the slogan "sous les pavés, la plage!"

From BBC ● Aug. 9, 2021

So when we approached a large sign that said “Cimetiere colonial de la plage des raisins clairs,” that’s what we assumed it was referring to.

From Washington Post ● Mar. 8, 2018

And the French have August, so I’m not sure if they’ll be reading this week’s linker, or packing pour la plage.

From Forbes ● Jul. 26, 2013

Daniel Webster, Henry Clay, John C. Calhoun, Sam Houston, other aristocrats disported themselves on its then remote plage.

From Time Magazine Archive

The plage itself was hidden, but a little way out the translucent greens began, dappled with a fairy-like refraction that brought the purply shoals almost up to the surface.

From The Tower of Oblivion by Oliver [pseud.] Onions