pansy

views updated May 21 2018

pan·sy / ˈpanzē/ • n. 1. a popular cultivated viola with flowers in rich colors, esp, the familiar Viola cornuta. 2. inf., offens. an effeminate or homosexual man.

pansy

views updated May 23 2018

pansy Common name for a cultivated hybrid violet. An annual or short-lived perennial, it has velvety flowers, usually in combinations of blue, yellow and white, with five petals. Height: to about 15–30cm (6–12in). Family Violaceae; species Viola tricolor.

pansy

views updated May 29 2018

pansy XV (pensee, later pensy, paunsie). — (O)F. pensée thought, fancifully applied to the plant, f. penser think — L. pēnsāre weigh, ponder, consider, in Rom. think.

pansy

views updated May 23 2018

pansy See VIOLA and VIOLACEAE.