plan·tain¹ (plăn'tən)
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 plantāgō, plantāgin-, from planta, sole of the foot (from its broad leaves).]

plan·tain² (plăn'tən)
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.]

---

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

---