plantain

/ˈplæn.tɪn/

//ˈplæn.tɪn// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"plantain" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“plantain” has 12 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #43,314. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#43,314
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords
12
tracked misspellings
3
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Any plant of the genus Plantago, with a rosette of sessile leaves about 10 cm (4") long with a narrow part instead of a petiole, and with a spike inflorescence with the flower spacing varying widel...

Corpus desk

Index EN-plantain · plantain · English

plantain · rank #43,314 · 12 variants · 3 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #43,314
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 3 pairs
  • VAR-MID 12 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH plaguing

Nearest frequency peer: plaguing (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “plantain”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “plantain” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

plantain vs plantar
75% similar
plantain vs planting
75% similar
plantain vs plantation
80% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for plantain
PropertyValue
Headwordplantain
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈplæn.tɪn/
Letters8
Frequency rank#43,314
Misspellings tracked12
Confusable pairs3
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “plantain”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).plantainlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “plaguing” (#43,313), “podcasting” (#43,315), “piecing” (#43,311). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “plantain” is #43,314. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 12 spelling variants around plantain (IPA /ˈplæn.tɪn/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #43,314 among 4,417 “P” headwords. Dominant gloss: "Any plant of the genus Plantago, with a rosette of sessile leaves about 10 cm (4") long with a narrow part instead of a petiole, and with a spike inflorescence with the flower spacing varying widel...".

Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for plantain, with forms such as "lpantain", "palntain", and "planatin". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 3 confusable-pair relationships, "plantar", "planting", "plantation", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: Inherited from Middle English planteyne, planteyn, from Anglo-Norman plainteine et al., Old French plaintain, from Latin plantāgō, from planta (“sole of the foot”), a nasalized form of Proto-Indo-European *pleth₂- (“flat; to spread”), because of the broad, … The correct English form is plantain, spelled P-L-A-N-T-A-I-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    Any plant of the genus Plantago, with a rosette of sessile leaves about 10 cm (4") long with a narrow part instead of a petiole, and with a spike inflorescence with the flower spacing varying widely among the species. See also psyllium.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how plantain appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. The roots of Plantain and Pellitory of Spain beaten to powder and put into hollow teeth, takes away the pains of them.
  2. The paths too are overgrown, but easily identified by the presence on them of round-leaved plantains.

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English planteyne, planteyn, from Anglo-Norman plainteine et al., Old French plaintain, from Latin plantāgō, from planta (“sole of the foot”), a nasalized form of Proto-Indo-European *pleth₂- (“flat; to spread”), because of the broad, flat shape of the plantain leaves.

Synonyms

waybreadfleawort

This word in other languages

llantén(Español)plantain(Français)Wegerich(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • lpantain
  • palntain
  • planatin
  • planntain
  • plantainn
  • plantani
  • plantian
  • planttain
  • platnain
  • pllantain
  • plnatain
  • pplantain

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of plantain - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

lpantain2palntain2planatin2planntain1plantainn1plantani2plantian2planttain1
Edit distance from "plantain"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "plantain"?
"plantain" is spelled P-L-A-N-T-A-I-N. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈplæn.tɪn/.
What does "plantain" mean?
As a noun, "plantain" means: Any plant of the genus Plantago, with a rosette of sessile leaves about 10 cm (4") long with a narrow part instead of a petiole, and with a spike inflorescence with the flower spacing varying widel...
What words are commonly confused with "plantain"?
"plantain" is commonly confused with "plantar", "planting", "plantation". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "plantain"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "plantain" is /ˈplæn.tɪn/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "plantain"?
Inherited from Middle English planteyne, planteyn, from Anglo-Norman plainteine et al., Old French plaintain, from Latin plantāgō, from planta (“sole of the foot”), a nasalized form of Proto-Indo-European *pleth₂- (“flat; to spread”), because of t... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "plantain", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

plaguing#43,313outsmart#43,297rulebook#43,357motility#43,268

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (12 here; floor ≥5).

pessimist12 variantsoceanside12 variantsMagdalen12 variantstentacle12 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list