plantain

plan·tain ¹  (plntn)

n.

Any of various plants of the genus Plantago that produce dense spikes of small greenish flowers, especially either of two Eurasian weeds, P. major or P. lanceolata. Also called ribwort.

---

[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin plantg, plantgin-, from planta, sole of the foot (from its broad leaves); see plat- in Indo-European roots.]

---

plan·tain ²  (plntn)

n.

1. A large, tropical, treelike herb (Musa paradisiaca) of southeast Asia, resembling the banana and bearing similar fruit.

2. The fruit of this plant, used as a staple food in tropical regions.

---

[Spanish plátano, plántano, plane tree, plantain, from Latin platanus; see plane⁴.]

---

plantain ¹

Noun

a plant with a rosette of broad leaves and a slender spike of small greenish flowers [Latin planta sole of the foot]

---

plantain ²

Noun

1. a large tropical fruit like a green-skinned banana

2. the tree on which this fruit grows [Spanish platano]

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	plantain - any of numerous plants of the genus Plantago; mostly small roadside or dooryard weeds with elliptic leaves and small spikes of very small flowers; seeds of some used medicinally herb, herbaceous plant - a plant lacking a permanent woody stem; many are flowering garden plants or potherbs; some having medicinal properties; some are pests genus Plantago, Plantago - type genus of the family Plantaginaceae; large cosmopolitan genus of mostly small herbs English plantain, narrow-leaved plantain, Plantago lanceolata, ribgrass, ribwort, ripple-grass, buckthorn - an Old World plantain with long narrow ribbed leaves widely established in temperate regions cart-track plant, common plantain, Plantago major, white-man's foot, whiteman's foot, broad-leaved plantain - common European perennial naturalized worldwide; a troublesome weed Plantago media, hoary plantain - widely distributed Old World perennial naturalized in North America having finely hairy leaves and inconspicuous white fragrant flowers fleawort, Plantago psyllium, psyllium, Spanish psyllium - plantain of Mediterranean regions whose seeds swell and become gelatinous when moist and are used as a mild laxative broad-leaved plantain, Plantago rugelii, rugel's plantain - North American plantain having reddish leafstalks and broad leaves hoary plantain, Plantago virginica - North American annual or biennial with long soft hairs on the leaves
	2.	plantain - a banana tree bearing hanging clusters of edible angular greenish starchy fruits; tropics and subtropics Musa paradisiaca, plantain tree plantain - starchy banana-like fruit; eaten (always cooked) as a staple vegetable throughout the tropics banana, banana tree - any of several tropical and subtropical treelike herbs of the genus Musa having a terminal crown of large entire leaves and usually bearing hanging clusters of elongated fruits
	3.	plantain - starchy banana-like fruit; eaten (always cooked) as a staple vegetable throughout the tropics veg, vegetable, veggie - edible seeds or roots or stems or leaves or bulbs or tubers or nonsweet fruits of any of numerous herbaceous plant Musa paradisiaca, plantain tree, plantain - a banana tree bearing hanging clusters of edible angular greenish starchy fruits; tropics and subtropics

Translations

plantain [ˈplænteɪn] n → llantén m