monstera
/mɒnˈstɛərə/
noun
Origin
Latin
monstrum — monster, portent, or unnatural appearance
Overview
Meaning Now
- A genus of tropical evergreen perennial vines and shrubs native to the tropical regions of the Americas, known for their large, often fenestrated leaves.
Literal older meaning
Derived from the Latin word for 'monstrous' or 'abnormal', referring to the unusual, perforated appearance of the leaves.
Language path
Latin → New Latin → English
Earliest form
Monstera
Earliest period
1763
Journey
The genus was formally named by French botanist Michel Adanson in 1763. He chose the name to highlight the 'monstrous' or abnormal appearance of the perforated leaves of the Monstera adansonii, which defied standard botanical expectations of leaf structure at the time.
Evolution
- Classical Latin
monstrum
“divine omen, portent, or monster”
- 18th Century Botany
Monstera
“Botanical genus name”
Coined by Michel Adanson to describe the anomalous, Swiss-cheese-like holes in the leaves.
Connections
Word parts
monstr-
root
monster/abnormal
-era
suffix
suffix forming feminine singular nouns
Related across languages
French
monstre
monster
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Related to monstera
External references use DefinedTerm semantics.