Standard Lemma guide

proteranthous

adj · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˌpɹəʊtəɹˈænθəs/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • General-American: /ˌproʊtəɹˈænθəs/
  • General-American: /-ɾəɹ-/
  • rhymes with -ænθəs

1

adj

Meaning 1

Of a plant: having flowers that appear earlier than the leaves.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: not-comparable, rare

Topics: biology, botany, natural-sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

adj

Meaning 2

Of a plant: having leaves that appear earlier than the flowers.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: not-comparable, rare

Topics: biology, botany, natural-sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

PIE word *h2éndhos From protero- (prefix meaning ‘earliest, first’) + -anthous (suffix specifying appearance or behavior of a plant's flowers).

Across languages

Translations

5 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Finnish: joka kukkii ennen lehtien kasvamista — of a plant: having flowers that appear earlier than the leaves
  • French: protéranthe — of a plant: having flowers that appear earlier than the leaves
  • Italian: proteranto — of a plant: having flowers that appear earlier than the leaves
  • Finnish: jonka lehdet kasvavat ennen kukkimista — of a plant: having leaves that appear earlier than the flowers
  • Italian: proteranto — of a plant: having leaves that appear earlier than the flowers