Where does “plantain” come from?
Plantain comes from Middle English planteyn, from Spanish plátano, from Latin platanus, from Ancient Greek πλάτανος, ultimately from the root πλατύς meaning broad, reflecting the tree's wide leaves.
plantain (English): A plant of the genus "Plantago", with a rosette...
Definitions
- A plant of the genus "Plantago", with a rosette...
Ancestry of “plantain”, step by step
plantain traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Middle English planteyne
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | planteyne | A plantain (plant of the genus Plantago) |
| 2 | Anglo-Norman | plainteine | — |
| 3 | Old French | plaintain | — |
| 4 | Latin | plantāgō | the plantain, especially the greater plantain |
| 5 | Latin | planta | any vegetable production that serves to propagate... |
| 6 | Proto-Italic | plāntā | — |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | pléh₂-n̥t-eh₂ | — |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | pleh₂- | flat |