plantlike
|plant-like|
🇺🇸
/ˈplæntlaɪk/
🇬🇧
/ˈplɑːntlaɪk/
resembling a plant
Etymology
'plantlike' originates from English, formed as a compound of the words 'plant' and 'like'; 'plant' ultimately comes from Latin 'planta' meaning 'sprout, cutting', and 'like' comes from Old English 'lic' meaning 'having the body of' or 'similar to'.
'plant' passed into Middle English as 'plante' via Old French from Latin 'planta', and 'like' comes from Old English 'lic' (through Middle English forms such as 'like'); the Modern English compound 'plantlike' developed by joining these elements.
Initially the components referred to a 'sprout' and 'similarity/shape', and over time the compound came to mean 'resembling a plant' (either in appearance or in passive/vegetative qualities).
Meanings by Part of Speech
Adjective 1
resembling or having the characteristics or appearance of a plant.
The coral formed plantlike fronds that swayed in the current.
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Adjective 2
figuratively, inactive or rooted in one place; showing qualities associated with plants (e.g., slow movement, passive).
After the illness he became almost plantlike, spending hours staring out the window.
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Last updated: 2025/11/28 12:31