Indo European "pele-" meaning "to be flat, to spread"

A platypus is a strange creature that is named after its feet. The word "platypus" actually means "flat foot."

A flan is a dessert with a flat top.

A clan is a group of related people -- in other words, they have all grown from the same "sprout."

"Supplant" originally meant "to make some trip." It now means "to replace someone, especially by sneaky means."

Unlike the seemingly fixed stars, planets wander through the sky.

When you explain something, you make it "plain" to the other person -- that is, you make it flat, so that there are no obstacles in the way of understanding it.

A plan is a sketch made on a flat surface.

A plane, in geometry, is a flat or two-dimensional surface.

The Latin word "planus," meaning "flat" or "level," became the Italian word "piano," which meant "soft." This word was combined with another Italian word -- "forte" that meant "strong," to create "piano e forte," meaning "soft and loud," because that musical instrument had the ability to be played at different volumes. Over time, "piano e forte" became "pianoforte," which was eventually shortened to just "piano."

The palm tree was named after the resemblance of its leafy branches to a human palm.

"Veldt" is not a common word in English. It's used mostly to refer to the grasslands of Africa.

Feldspar is "field mineral" -- that is, a kind of rock found in fields.

The word "flaneur" is not very common in English. In the nineteenth century, the flaneur was seen as a kind of gentleman -- a "man of leisure" who enjoys life by observing the world. Nowadays the word usually refers to someone who is lazy and disengaged.