Hypertext Webster Gateway: "plantain"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Plantain \Plan"tain\, n. [F., fr. L. plantago. Cf. {Plant}.]
(Bot.)
Any plant of the genus {Plantago}, but especially the {P.
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.
{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.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
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}.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
plantain
n 1: 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
2: a banana tree bearing hanging clusters of edible angular
greenish starchy fruits; tropics and subtropics [syn: {plantain
tree}, {Musa paradisiaca}]
3: starchy banana-like fruit; eaten (always cooked) as a staple
vegetable throughout the tropics
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