plantain
plan·tain/ˈplæn.tɪn/noun
plantain is spelled P-L-A-N-T-A-I-N: 8 letters and 2 syllables (plan·tain). It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 43,187th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). 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…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of plantain is plantains.
How many letters and syllables are in plantain?
| Letters | 8: P-L-A-N-T-A-I-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: plan·tain |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 43,187th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is plantain?
Plantain appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 43,187th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce plantain?
- UK /ˈplæn.tɪn/
- UK /ˈplæn.teɪn/
- UK /ˈplɑːn.teɪn/
Plantain has 2 syllables, split plan·tain in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-plantain.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of plantain
- plantains plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does plantain mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 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.
- 2
A plant in the genus Musa, the genus that includes banana, but with lower sugar content than banana.
- 3
The fruit of the plant, usually cooked before eating and used like potatoes.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Plantain in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | plantain , banane plantain, banane farine, banane cochon, banane à cuire |
| German | Wegerich , Kochbanane, Gemüsebanane, Mehlbanane, Pisangfeige |
| Portuguese | plantago, tanchagem, tansagem, transagem , banana-da-terra, banana-comprida |
| Spanish | llantén, plantaina, arta, plantaje, quisa , plátano macho |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does plantain come from?
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.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).