Word of the Week – Plant

Originally published 5/12/12

I thought it would be fun to revisit this old Word of the Week when I saw the pretty photo I put in here of a strip of our flowers at our old house. Ah, spring, how I long for thee. 😉 So here you go–a(nother) glimpse at the word plant:

Every time we go to my mom’s we see the power plant across the river–and every time, my kids ask, “Why’s it called a ‘plant’?” And every time, I go, “Uh . . . ” At one point I made up an answer–and what do you know, I was right! LOL

  

Plant is from the Latin planta, meaning “sprout, shoot, cutting” which may be from plantare, “to drive in with the feet, push into the ground with the feet.” Which is in turn from planta, “sole of the foot.” By 1550 it moved from its first English meaning of “shrub or newly-planted herb” to any vegetation. The verb “to plant” has been around since Old English, just like the noun.

Now, the building–it is fact from the same idea, meaning a building planted in a particular area for industrial purposes. That usage came into meaning in 1789. And interestingly, the meaning of “a spy” is from 1812. =)