'Plantain' definitions:
Definition of 'plantain'
From: WordNet
noun
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
noun
A banana tree bearing hanging clusters of edible angular greenish starchy fruits; tropics and subtropics [syn: plantain, plantain tree, Musa paradisiaca]
noun
Starchy banana-like fruit; eaten (always cooked) as a staple vegetable throughout the tropics
Definition of 'Plantain'
From: GCIDE
- Plantain \Plan"tain\, n. [F., fr. L. plantago. Cf. Plant.] (Bot.) Any plant of the genus Plantago, but especially the Plantago major, a low herb with broad spreading radical leaves, and slender spikes of minute flowers. It is a native of Europe, but now found near the abode of civilized man in nearly all parts of the world. [1913 Webster]
- Indian plantain. (Bot.) See under Indian.
- Mud plantain, a homely North American aquatic plant (Heteranthera reniformis), having broad, reniform leaves.
- Rattlesnake plantain, an orchidaceous plant ({Goodyera pubescens}), with the leaves blotched and spotted with white.
- Ribwort plantain. See Ribwort.
- Robin's plantain, the Erigeron bellidifolium, a common daisylike plant of North America.
- Water plantain, a plant of the genus Alisma, having acrid leaves, and formerly regarded as a specific against hydrophobia. --Loudon. [1913 Webster]
Definition of 'Plantain'
From: GCIDE
- Plantain \Plan"tain\, n. [Cf. F. plantain-arbre, plantanier, Sp. pl['a]ntano, pl['a]tano; prob. same word as plane tree.]
- 1. (Bot.) A treelike perennial herb (Musa paradisiaca) of tropical regions, bearing immense leaves and large clusters of the fruits called plantains. See Musa. [1913 Webster]
- 2. The fruit of this plant. It is long and somewhat cylindrical, slightly curved, and, when ripe, soft, fleshy, and covered with a thick but tender yellowish skin. The plantain is a staple article of food in most tropical countries, especially when cooked. [1913 Webster]
- Plantain cutter, or Plantain eater (Zool.), any one of several large African birds of the genus Musophaga, or family Musophagid[ae], especially Musophaga violacea. See Turaco. They are allied to the cuckoos.
- Plantain squirrel (Zool.), a Java squirrel ({Sciurus plantani}) which feeds upon plantains.
- Plantain tree (Bot.), the treelike herb Musa paradisiaca. See def. 1 (above). [1913 Webster]
Words containing 'Plantain'
- Hartshorn plantain,
- Indian plantain,
- Mud plantain,
- Plantain cutter,
- Plantain eater,
- Plantain squirrel,
- Plantain tree,
- Rattlesnake plantain,
- Ribwort plantain,
- Robin's plantain,
- Water plantain,
- Wild plantain,
- common plantain,
- english plantain,
- hoary plantain,
- plantain family,
- plantain lily,
- rugel's plantain,
- broad-leaved plantain,
- narrow-leaved plantain,
- plantain-leaved pussytoes,
- water-plantain family,
- narrow-leaved water plantain,
- ribbon-leaved water plantain