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supplant

[suh-plant, -plahnt]
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verb (used with object)
  1. to take the place of (another), as through force, scheming, strategy, or the like.
  2. to replace (one thing) by something else.
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Origin of supplant

1250–1300; Middle English supplanten < Latin supplantāre to trip up, overthrow. See sup-, plant
Related formssup·plan·ta·tion [suhp-luh n-tey-shuh n] /ˌsʌp lənˈteɪ ʃən/, nounsup·plant·er, nounun·sup·plant·ed, adjective
Can be confusedsupplant supplicant suppliant

Synonyms

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1. remove, succeed. See replace.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for supplantation

Historical Examples

  • One of these illustrates the expiring episcopal jurisdiction over heresy and its supplantation by the Inquisition.

    A History of The Inquisition of Spain; vol. 2,

    Henry Charles Lea

British Dictionary definitions for supplantation

supplant

verb
  1. (tr) to take the place of, often by trickery or forcehe easily supplanted his rival
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Derived Formssupplantation (ˌsʌplɑːnˈteɪʃən), nounsupplanter, noun

Word Origin

C13: via Old French from Latin supplantāre to trip up, from sub- from below + planta sole of the foot
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 supplantation

supplant

v.

c.1300, "to trip up, overthrow, defeat, dispossess," from Old French supplanter "to trip up, overthrow," from Latin supplantare "trip up, overthrow," from sub "under" + planta "sole of the foot" (see plant (n.)). Meaning "replace one thing with another" first recorded 1670s. Interesting sense evolution parallel in Hebrew akabh "he beguiled," from akebh "heel."

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper