Webster's English Dictionary

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plantain

1. plan.tain \'plant-*n\ n [ME, fr. OF, fr. L plantagin-, plantago, fr. 
   planta sole of t]he foot; fr. its broad leaves - more at PLACE : any of a 
   genus (Plantago of the family Plantaginaceae, the plantai n family) of 
   short-stemmed elliptic-leaved herbs with spikes of minute greenish flowers
2. plantain n [Sp pla`ntano plane tree, banana tree, fr. ML plantanus, 
   alter. of] L platanus - more at PLANE 1: a banana plant (Musa paradisiaca)  
   2: the angular greenish starchy fruit of the plantain that is a staple food 
    throughout the tropics when cooked