Plantagenet

Plantagenet

English

Etymology

Originally a sobriquet of Geoffrey of Anjou (1113-1151), the founder of the line, who was said to have worn a broom blossom in his hat (plante genest in Old French, from Latin genesta), which was subsequently adopted as a surname.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /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 2012, p. 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.