maranta

American

[muh-ran-tuh] / məˈræn tə /

noun

any of several tropical American plants of the genus Maranta, including arrowroot and several species cultivated as ornamentals for their variegated foliage.

maranta British

/ məˈræntə /

noun

any plant of the tropical American rhizomatous genus Maranta, some species of which are grown as pot plants for their showy leaves in variegated shades of green: family Marantaceae

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of maranta

< New Latin (Linnaeus), after Bartolomeo Maranta (1500–71), Italian physician and botanist

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

A sea of green plants — including Oxalis triangularis and maranta lemon lime prayer plants, Alocasia ‘Silver Dragon’ and Hoya engleriana — is spread across three large wooden tables made by local artisan Sarven Manguiat.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 1, 2021

The leaf of the pond lily, lotus, canna, maranta, rubber tree, magnolia, camellia, orange, and all leaves which have a waxy surface, should either be varnished or bronzed.

From The Ladies Book of Useful Information Compiled from many sources by Anonymous

Among the utensils I noticed baskets of different shapes, made of flattened maranta stalks, and dyed various colours.

From The Naturalist on the River Amazons by Bates, Henry Walter

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023