supplant · verb — to take the place of; to replace, to supersede. It carries an Arena rating of 1654, earned across 3 head-to-head judged battles.
Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, supplant ranks #505 of 17,135 for Most Betrayed by Its Sound, #534 of 17,135 for Most Elegant Words, #801 of 17,153 for Most Ingenious Words, #937 of 17,136 for Words That Escaped Their Books.
supplant is pronounced /səˈplɑːnt/.
Why “supplant” is a great word
SUPPLANT — [Verb] To take the place of, especially through force, scheming, or underhanded means. From Middle English supplanten, supplaunten, from Old French supplanter, from Latin supplantāre ("to trip up"), from sub ("from below, under") + planta ("sole of the foot"). Unlike "supersede," which suggests a lawful or natural succession by the superior, or "displace," which merely forces something out of position, to supplant is to achieve replacement through a foundational act of sabotage. It is the younger courtier’s whisper that erodes a king’s trust, the creeping vine that strangles the old oak, the new regime quietly rewriting history—one must first be unbalanced, from below, before a fall can create an empty space.
❧ Essay by Lexicurio’s AI · definition, etymology & citations from published sources
Etymology
From Middle English supplanten, supplaunten, from Old French supplanter, from Latin supplantō (“trip up”), from sub (“from below, under”) + planta (“sole”).
verb
- To take the place of; to replace, to supersede.e.g.“Will online dictionaries ever supplant paper dictionaries?”
- To uproot, to remove violently.e.g.“Trinculo, if you trouble him any more in's tale, by this hand, I will supplant some of your teeth.” — 1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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