A flight attendant from Concord, North Carolina, is irritated by a word she must use often in her work: deplane, meaning “to leave an aircraft.” She knows this verb is effective and efficient, but she says that to her it seems inelegant, noting that in the UK the word deboard is used instead. Deplane probably derives from detrain, which in turn probably derives from debark, literally “to get off of a boat.” Inelegant or not, the verbs detruck, debike, and debus are also used in military contexts. This is part of a complete episode.
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