Definition of "plantain" [plan•tain]

• 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. (noun)
• A large, tropical, treelike herb (Musa paradisiaca) of southeast Asia, resembling the banana and bearing similar fruit. (noun)
• The fruit of this plant, used as a staple food in tropical regions. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Love your combination, the fried plantain is a perfect touch. anna maria on March 14th, 2010 at 9: 34 pm"
• "The skin of the plantain is dried and then roasted in a clay oven in order to achieve a particular color, texture and smell."
• "The sub-species _sapientum_ (formerly regarded as a distinct species _M. sapientum_) is the source of the fruits generally known in England as bananas, and eaten raw, while the name plantain is given to forms of the species itself _M. paradisiaca_, which require cooking."