plantation

[plan-tey-shuh n]

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noun

a usually large farm or estate, especially in a tropical or semitropical country, on which cotton, tobacco, coffee, sugar cane, or the like is cultivated, usually by resident laborers.

a group of planted trees or plants.

History/Historical.

a colony or new settlement.
the establishment of a colony or new settlement.

Archaic. the planting of seeds, young trees, etc.

adjective

(of clothing, furnishings, etc.) suitable for a plantation or for a tropical or semitropical country.

Origin of plantation

1400–50; late Middle English plantacioune < Latin plantātiōn- (stem of plantātiō) “a planting.” See plant (verb), -ation

Related formsplan·ta·tion·like, adjective

Plantation

[plan-tey-shuh n]

noun

a town in S Florida.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for plantation

ranch, estate, orchard, homestead, hacienda, vineyard, farmstead

Examples from the Web for plantation

Contemporary Examples of plantation

Hamer married in 1944 and moved with her husband to Ruleville, Miss., where they were sharecroppers on a plantation.
Remembering Civil Rights Heroine Fannie Lou Hamer: 'I'm Sick and Tired of Being Sick and Tired'
Lottie L. Joiner
September 2, 2014
After firing that off, he clumsily asked what a plantation mentality is.
Donald Sterling’s Insane Attempt at Damage Control Fails Miserably
Nina Strochlic
May 13, 2014
“I think you have more of a plantation mentality than I do,” he said.
Donald Sterling’s Insane Attempt at Damage Control Fails Miserably
Nina Strochlic
May 13, 2014
Located in northern California, the Plantation Farm Camp takes everything back to the basics.
The Wildest Summer Camps for Kids
Justin Jones
April 28, 2014
Mississippi was “probably the worst, because of its plantation aristocracy.”
Can a Senator Stop a Union? Bob Corker Is Certainly Trying
Michael Tomasky
February 14, 2014

Historical Examples of plantation

What was to become of the slaves on this plantation now that the master was dead?
Harriet, The Moses of Her People
Sarah H. Bradford
This was my position on the plantation a short time after school was out for the term.
Biography of a Slave
Charles Thompson
There was plenty to do on the plantation, and there was no good cause for sending me away.
Biography of a Slave
Charles Thompson
I told him I belonged to a man by the name of Potts, and that I was going to his plantation.
Biography of a Slave
Charles Thompson
I did not stop to put on my clothes until I had got two or three miles from the plantation.
Biography of a Slave
Charles Thompson

British Dictionary definitions for plantation

plantation

noun

an estate, esp in tropical countries, where cash crops such as rubber, oil palm, etc, are grown on a large scale

a group of cultivated trees or plants

(formerly) a colony or group of settlers

rare the planting of seeds, shoots, etc

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

Word Origin and History for plantation

mid-15c., "action of planting," from Middle French plantation, from Latin plantationem (nominative plantatio) "a planting," noun of action from past participle stem of plantare "to plant" (see plant). Historically used for "colony, settlement in a new land" (1610s); meaning "large farm on which tobacco or cotton is grown" is first recorded 1706.