transplant
trans-PLANT
/trænsˈplɑːnt/
To move a plant from one place and plant it in another; to transfer an organ or tissue to another body.
In gardening, transplanting requires careful handling of the root ball to prevent 'transplant shock.' Metaphorically, it refers to moving people, communities, or ideas to a new environment.
The story behind the word. The Latin prefix 'trans-' means 'across' or 'beyond'. Combined with 'plantare' (to drive in with the feet, to plant), Late Latin created 'transplantare' to describe the delicate agricultural art of moving a growing plant to a new field. In the 20th century, the medical world borrowed this ancient gardening term for organ transfers.
Word relationships
- relocate: Relocate is a general term for moving anything to a new place, while transplant specifically implies planting roots in a new medium.
- repot: Repot specifically means moving a plant to a larger pot, whereas transplant can mean moving a plant from a pot into the ground.
- uproot: Uproot means to pull a plant out of the ground completely, often destroying it or leaving it without soil, whereas transplanting is done to preserve life.
Commonly confused with
- replant: Replant means to plant something again in the same spot (often after a failure), whereas transplant means moving it to a different spot.
Word family
- transplantation (noun): The act or process of transplanting.
Collocations
- transplant seedlings
- transplant shock
- organ transplant
- successfully transplant
Example sentences
- "Once the danger of frost has passed, you can transplant your tomato seedlings into the outdoor garden." Spring gardening instructions
- "As a transplant from the Midwest, he found the fast-paced lifestyle of New York City overwhelming at first." Sociological description
Memory hook
TRANS-port a PLANT to a new place = TRANSPLANT. TRANS (across) + PLANT.
When not to use
Do not use 'transplant' if you are just moving a potted plant from one shelf to another without changing its soil or container; that is just 'moving' it.
Fun facts
- The first successful human organ transplant (a kidney) was performed in 1954, but gardeners had been successfully transplanting trees for thousands of years before that.
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