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Glite Dictionary
plantain tree

plantain tree

4.6
A tropical tree that grows large starchy fruits like bananas that are often cooked before eating
  • noun
  • /ˈplænˌteɪn tri/
translation icon : platanero
  • The lush landscape featured tall plantain trees swaying gently in the breeze.

Examples

  • In the warm climate, plantain trees thrive, producing large fruits that are a staple in many dishes.

  • Yu immediately turned around and discovered a girl with a slender, gentle body standing behind the plantain tree.

    Fiction book (2002)

  • The gardener planted several new plantain trees in the tropical garden last summer.

Synonyms

plantain
vsplantain tree
11 4.1

A tropical fruit like a banana that is starchy and usually cooked

is a tropical tree that bears larger angular green starchy fruits
Musa paradisiaca
vsplantain tree
  • Specialized
7.5

A banana plant that grows in warm places and produces starchy fruits you can cook

is the tropical tree producing larger angular starchy fruits similar to bananas

Surface Forms

plantain tree singular
plantain trees plural

Morphology

plantain + tree

The compound is directly compositional: 'plantain tree' straightforwardly denotes a tree that bears plantains, so the overall meaning follows from 'plantain' (a starchy banana-relative) + 'tree' (a tall perennial plant). This noun–noun compounding is a common, cross-linguistic pattern, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents should be able to infer the meaning.

Etymology

The noun plantain tree is a simple name: it is the plantain (a firm, banana-like fruit often 'cooked' rather than eaten raw) that grows on a tree. That's why the term means a tropical tree that produces the plantains people cook and eat.