Musa paradisiaca
    n 1: a banana tree bearing hanging clusters of edible angular
         greenish starchy fruits; tropics and subtropics [syn:
         plantain, plantain tree, Musa paradisiaca]

Plantain \Plan"tain\, n. [Cf. F. plantain-arbre, plantanier, Sp.
   pl['a]ntano, pl['a]tano; prob. same word as plane tree.]
   1. (Bot.) A treelike perennial herb (Musa paradisiaca) of
      tropical regions, bearing immense leaves and large
      clusters of the fruits called plantains. See Musa.
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   2. The fruit of this plant. It is long and somewhat
      cylindrical, slightly curved, and, when ripe, soft,
      fleshy, and covered with a thick but tender yellowish
      skin. The plantain is a staple article of food in most
      tropical countries, especially when cooked.
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   Plantain cutter, or Plantain eater (Zool.), any one of
      several large African birds of the genus Musophaga, or
      family Musophagid[ae], especially Musophaga violacea.
      See Turaco. They are allied to the cuckoos.

   Plantain squirrel (Zool.), a Java squirrel (Sciurus
      plantani) which feeds upon plantains.

   Plantain tree (Bot.), the treelike herb Musa paradisiaca.
      See def. 1 (above).
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Adam \Ad"am\, n.
   1. The name given in the Bible to the first man, the
      progenitor of the human race.
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   2. (As a symbol) "Original sin;" human frailty.
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            And whipped the offending Adam out of him. --Shak.
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   Adam's ale, water. [Coll.]

   Adam's apple.

   1. (Bot.)
      (a) A species of banana (Musa paradisiaca). It attains a
          height of twenty feet or more. --Paxton.
      (b) A species of lime (Citris limetta).

   2. The projection formed by the thyroid cartilage in the
      neck. It is particularly prominent in males, and is so
      called from a notion that it was caused by the forbidden
      fruit (an apple) sticking in the throat of our first
      parent.

   Adam's flannel (Bot.), the mullein (Verbascum thapsus).
      

   Adam's needle (Bot.), the popular name of a genus (Yucca)
      of liliaceous plants.
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Musa \Mu"sa\, prop. n.; pl. Musae. [NL., fr. Ar. mauz, mauza,
   banana.] (Bot.)
   A genus of perennial, herbaceous, endogenous plants of great
   size, including the banana (Musa sapientum), the plantain
   (Musa paradisiaca of Linnaeus, but probably not a distinct
   species), the Abyssinian (Musa Ensete), the Philippine
   Island (Musa textilis, which yields Manila hemp), and about
   eighteen other species. See Illust. of Banana and
   Plantain.
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