Plantswoman

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A woman skilled in growing and caring for plants, often with professional knowledge of horticulture
2. A female individual who specializes in the cultivation and maintenance of plants and gardens
3. A woman experienced in the art and science of growing plants, typically knowledgeable about gardening and plant care

Etymology: "Plantswoman" is a plain compound: "plant" joined to "woman" with a linking "s" in between, the same pattern seen in "craftsman" and "kinsman". The "s" marks the word as a possessive-style joining element, so the form sounds natural to English ears even though the meaning is simply "a woman connected with plants." The surprising part is its sibling. "Clanswoman," a woman of a Scottish or Highland clan, is the word it is paired with, and the two words share the same construction, with "clan" and "plant" swapped in the first position. Because they follow the same pattern, they are treated as parallel formations, and "plantswoman" was built on the model of forms like "clanswoman" rather than borrowed from any other language.

Synonyms: gardener, horticulturist, florist, botanist, cultivator