Etymologically
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planter

Etymology and origin of the French word planter

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Confidence
Established
Formation
Inherited
First attested
c. 1130, Paraphrase of the Song of Songs
Inherited from
Latin planto via Old French
Ultimate origin
Latin (planta)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /plɑ̃.te/[1]

Forms

planter[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French planter, inherited from Latin plantō (“to tread down the soil; to plant”),[2][3][4][5] used in rustic Latin for pressing down the soil round a cutting.[3][2] The Latin verb is from planta (“sole of the foot”),[2][3][6] which the Petit Robert relates to Ancient Greek πλατύς (platús, “broad, flat”).[7]

Cognate with Romanian planta, Italian piantare, Occitan plantar, Catalan plantar, Spanish plantar and Old Portuguese “chantar”.[7][8] The verb was borrowed by Germanic languages: English plant, German pflanzen, Dutch planten.[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

A paraphrase of the Song of Songs (about 1130) has it for setting a young plant or cutting in the ground so that it takes root.[2][3]

Semantic evolution

About 1165 the participle planté described a rider firmly seated, and the figurative sense “to root, implant (an idea)” appears in Guernes (1174–1176).[2] In 1188 Aimon de Varennes uses it for driving something in and for setting things in place;[2] planter a flag or a ladder is “to set upright” (about 1240), and planter un baiser dates from the 13th century.[2][3] The sense “to sow (seeds, bulbs)” (about 1393) is general in classical French and survives in Belgium and some regions (planter des pommes de terre).[2][3]

Planter là qqn “to leave someone in the lurch” goes back to Alain Chartier (15th century).[3][9] Se planter “to stand stock-still” is from 1512;[10][2] in recent familiar use it means of a vehicle “to crash” (about 1970) and of a person “to get it wrong, fail”, and in computing a program plante when it crashes.[3][1] English planter “colonist, plantation owner” was borrowed back as planteur (1667).[4]

Timeline

  • c. 1130 – First record, in a paraphrase of the Song of Songs.[2]
  • c. 1165 – Planté “firmly seated”.[2]
  • 1188 – “To drive in” in Aimon de Varennes.[2]
  • c. 1393 – “To sow”, in the Ménagier de Paris.[2]
  • 15th century – Planter là.[3]
  • 1512 – Se planter “to take up a stand”.[10]
  • 1977 – Se planter “to dry” in theatre slang.[3]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To plant (a tree, a seedling); to sow (seeds, bulbs): planter des salades, planter des tulipes.[7][11]
  2. To plant (ground) with something: avenue plantée d'arbres.[7][11]
  3. To drive in (a stake, a nail); to pitch (a tent); to set up (a flag, a stage set).[1][7]
  4. (familiar) To stand (someone) up, planter là: to leave in the lurch.[1][3]
  5. (computing) To crash.[1][3]
  6. (slang) To stab.[1]
  7. (reflexive) To plant oneself, stand firmly, (familiar) to crash; to get it wrong, fail.[3][1]

Word family

  • plant
  • plantage
  • plantoir
  • planton
  • déplanter
  • replanter
  • plantation
  • planteur
  • transplanter
  • plante
  • implanter
  • supplanter
  • Latin planta

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  5. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 9, 20b
  6. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  7. ^ a b c d e f Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  8. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
  9. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  10. ^ a b Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
  11. ^ a b Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Planter.” Etymologically, 17 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/planter. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

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