Etymology and origin of the Catalan word plantar
plantar1 to plant
Etymology tree of plantar1
From the same root · plantar1
Pronunciation
Forms
plantar (first-person singular present planto, first-person singular preterite plantí, past participle plantat)[1]
Etymology
The word for “to plant” is inherited from Old Catalan plantar, which is inherited from Latin plantō (“to plant”).[2][3][1] Wiktionary derives the Latin verb from planta with the verb suffix -ō.[1] Coromines reports Wartburg's view that the Latin verb first meant to press the soil down with the sole of the foot, ⟨planta⟩, and that the noun ⟨planta⟩ “plant, cutting” was formed back from the verb.[2]
The same Latin verb is Italian piantare, French planter and Old Portuguese chantar.[4] Old Spanish had the inherited llantar;[5] García de Diego takes the Castilian form with pl- from Aragon and La Rioja.[5]
Earliest recorded meaning
The NGGL quotes Llull's Llibre de contemplació on trees that are planted and must be nourished by heat and moisture.[6] The first sense recorded is the agricultural one, to put a young plant or a seed in the ground so that it takes root.[6][7]
Semantic evolution
Medieval texts also use the verb for driving any object into the ground: in the Llibre de Gamaliel the cross is plantada in the earth.[7] From there it came to mean to set something upright and firmly, to set up a shop or a stall, and to put in place in general.[8][9] The pronominal plantar-se “to plant oneself somewhere, to stand firm” gave the card-game sense of not asking for more cards, and plantar algú “to leave someone in the lurch”.[9][1]
Coromines praises the colloquial phrase plantar cara “to stand up to someone” as the genuine Catalan expression for confronting, rather than enfrontar-se, which he sees as a calque of Spanish and French.[2] The participle plantat meant “erect, upright” in Bernat Metge, and as a noun el plantat is cultivated land in Valencia, while the Pyrenees say una plantada for an olive grove.[2]
Timeline
- c. 1271 – Llull's Llibre de contemplació speaks of trees that are planted.[6]
- 1272 – plantació is recorded in the Costums de Tortosa.[10]
- 1407 – a letter of King Martí orders trees to be planted in the garden of Santa Anna.[7]
- 1409 – a royal letter orders grafts so that the king can have trees planted.[2]
- 1575 – Onofre Pou glosses plantar with Latin plantare.[2]
Meanings
Verb
- To plant: to put a young plant, a cutting or a seed in the ground so that it grows: Aquesta tardor plantarem ametllers.[9][3]
- To drive the end of a pole or stake into the ground so that it stands firm.[9][8]
- To place, put or set up: plantar botiga;[9][2] plantar cara to stand up to someone.[9][2]
- (colloquial) To jilt, to leave someone in the lurch: deixar plantat.[9][1]
- To land a blow: li va plantar una bufetada.[9]
- (pronominal) To place oneself somewhere, to arrive or stand firm; in card games, to stick.[9][1]
Word family
- desplantar
- replantar
- trasplantar
- plantada
- plantador
- plantament
plantar2 of the sole of the foot
- Confidence
- Established
- Formation
- Derivation
- Ultimate origin
- Latin planta
Pronunciation
- Central, Northern: [plənˈtar][1]
- Balearic: [plənˈta][1]
- Valencia: [planˈtaɾ][1]
- Northwestern: [planˈtar][1]
Forms
plantar m or f (masculine and feminine plural plantars)[1]
Etymology
The word for “of the sole of the foot” is formed from Catalan planta + -ar, from the noun in its sense “sole of the foot”.[1][2] Coromines lists it among the words formed on that sense of planta, with plantilla, which was borrowed from Spanish.[2]
Meanings
Adjective
Noun
Related words
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Coromines, Joan (1980–2001), Diccionari etimològic i complementari de la llengua catalana, 10 vols., Barcelona: Curial / La Caixa (online ed., Institut d'Estudis Catalans 2024), p. 6, 587
- ^ a b c d Enciclopèdia Catalana, Gran diccionari de la llengua catalana (GDLC), Barcelona: Enciclopèdia Catalana; online edition, https://www.diccionari.cat, p. s.v. plantar
- ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter, p. 6578
- ^ a b García de Diego, Vicente (1985), Diccionario etimológico español e hispánico, 2nd ed., Madrid: Espasa-Calpe (1st ed. 1954), p. s.v. plantare
- ^ a b c Nou glossari general lul·lià (NGGL), Centre de Documentació Ramon Llull, Universitat de Barcelona, https://nggl.ub.edu, p. s.v. plantar
- ^ a b c Faraudo de Saint-Germain, Lluís, Vocabulari de la llengua catalana medieval, online edition, Barcelona: Institut d'Estudis Catalans, p. s.v. plantar
- ^ a b Alcover, Antoni M.; Moll, Francesc de B. (1930–1962), Diccionari català-valencià-balear, 10 vols., Palma de Mallorca: Moll, p. s.v. plantar
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Institut d'Estudis Catalans (2007), Diccionari de la llengua catalana, 2nd ed. (DIEC2), Barcelona: Edicions 62; online edition with later updates, https://dlc.iec.cat, p. s.v. plantar
- ^ Bruguera, Jordi (1996), Diccionari etimològic, Barcelona: Enciclopèdia Catalana, p. 717
Related etymologies
Cite this entry
“Plantar.” Etymologically, 13 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/ca/plantar. Accessed 14 Nov. 2026.
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