Plantagenet

English

Etymology

Originally a sobriquet of Geoffrey of Anjou (1113-1151), founder of the line, who was said to have worn a yellow broom blossom in his hat, Old French plante genest (French plante genêt), from Latin planta genista (“sprig of broom”), whence Medieval Latin Plantagenistae; subsequently adopted as a surname.

Pronunciation

• enPR: plăn-tăj′ə-nĭt, plăn-tăj′nət, IPA^(key): /plænˈtædʒ.ə.nɪt/, /plænˈtædʒ.(ə.)nət/
• (UK) IPA^(key): /plænˈtædʒ.ɪ.nɪt/, /planˈtadʒ.(ə.)nət/

Noun

Plantagenet (plural Plantagenets)

1. (historical) A member of the dynasty which held the English throne from 1154 to 1485. [from 16th c.]
   • 1902, Charles Robert Ashbee, Masque of the Edwards of England, page 7:

     […] all the fine intelligence of all the Plantagenets, […]

   • 2011, Thomas Penn, Winter King, Penguin, published 2012, page 23:

     The last surviving Plantagenet prince descended in the male line, Edward earl of Warwick was a touchstone for Yorkist affections […] and Lincoln understood the galvanizing effect of Warwick's presence at the head of any uprising.

Proper noun

Plantagenet

1. A community of Alfred and Plantagenet township, Ontario, Canada.
2. The Shire of Plantagenet, a local government area in the Great Southern region, Western Australia.

Derived terms

• Alfred and Plantagenet

Further reading

• “Plantagenet”, in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th edition, Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2016, →ISBN.
• “Plantagenet”, in Collins English Dictionary.
• “Plantagenet”, in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.
• “Plantagenet”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
• “Plantagenet”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
• “Plantagenet”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
• Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “Plantagenet”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.