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Glite Dictionary
horizontal tail

horizontal tail

4.7
A flat surface at the tail of a plane that keeps the nose level and controls up-and-down movement
  • noun
  • Specialized
translation icon : cola horizontal
  • The engineer explained how the horizontal tail affects the aircraft's overall balance and performance.

Examples

  • Inspecting the horizontal tail revealed that the stabilizer was damaged, compromising flight safety.

  • Her lower half is not, as you might expect, fish-like or scaly, but more like the back half of a porpoise, with sleek, powerful muscles and a horizontal tail.

    Fiction book (2000)

  • The horizontal tail of the aircraft provides stability during flight and helps control its pitch.

Synonyms

horizontal stabilizer
vshorizontal tail
  • Specialized
1 6.7

A fixed flat part at the tail of a plane that keeps the nose steady

is the broader assembly including both fixed surface and movable elevator for pitch control
tailplane
vshorizontal tail
  • Specialized
1 8.8

A horizontal surface at the tail of a plane that helps keep it steady and control up and down movement

is broader and includes both the fixed surface and movable control parts for pitch

Surface Forms

horizontal tail singular
horizontal tails plural

Morphology

horizontal + tail

The meaning is directly compositional: 'horizontal' (positioned perpendicular to vertical) combined with 'tail' (the rear part) yields the concept of the aircraft's rear surface oriented horizontally. Although it is a technical aviation term, the basic sense is predictable from the constituents and is cross-linguistically transparent, so a B1 learner who knows both words can infer the meaning.

Etymology

The noun horizontal tail names the flat, wing-like surface at the back of a plane: horizontal means flat and tail means the rear. That small rear wing keeps the nose from moving up and down, so it 'controls up-and-down motion' and 'helps keep the plane steady'.