plantain
plantain Lexical Profile
plantain Game Scores & Validity
• noun
The large, elongated, thick-skinned fruit of certain cultivars in the banana genus Musa, grown widely across tropical regions and containing a high starch content with low sugar when unripe.
"When fully ripened until its skin turns black, the sweet plantain can be baked or caramelized as a rich dessert."
The firm, starchy flesh of a green or semi-ripe Musa fruit used in tropical and Caribbean cuisine as a staple savory vegetable, typically boiled, mashed, or fried before eating.
"She sliced the green plantains into thick rounds and fried them twice to make crispy tostones."
Any of various low-growing herbaceous plants of the genus Plantago (family Plantaginaceae), widespread in temperate lawns and meadows, characterized by a basal rosette of broad, ribbed leaves and a dense, upright spike of tiny greenish flowers.
"Broadleaf plantain grows abundantly along compacted footpaths and has traditionally been used as a soothing poultice for insect bites."
Word Nuance & Usage
'Plantain' is actually two unrelated homographs: the tropical cooking banana (from Spanish plátano) and the temperate lawn weed (from Latin plantago). In culinary contexts, plantains are botanically fruits (specifically berries), though they are prepared and eaten as starchy vegetables.
• Rhymes for plantain
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
The sense of a low-growing herb derives from Old French plantain, from Latin plantago ('sole of the foot'), referring to its broad, flat leaves. The sense of a tropical cooking banana entered English in the 16th century via Spanish plátano (plane tree), altered by folk etymology under the influence of the earlier English word.
Usage Trend
Historical frequency of usage in published text.