columbine
co·lum·bine / ˈkäləmˌbīn/ • n. an aquilegia with long-spurred flowers. • Genus Aquilegia, family Ranunculaceae: several species, including the white-floweredColorado blue columbine (A. coerulea) with blue sepals, and the red-flowered A. canadensis.
columbine
columbine dove-like. XIV. — (O)F. colombin, -ine — L. columbīnus, f. columba dove. As sb., name of plants. XIII. — OF. colombine — medL. columbīna (sc. herba) ‘dove's plant’, so called from the resemblance of the inverted flower to five pigeons clustered together.
Columbine
Columbine a character in Italian commedia dell'arte, the mistress of Harlequin; the name comes via French from Italian Colombina, feminine of colombino ‘dovelike’, from colombo ‘dove’.
columbine
columbine Any of c.100 species of perennial herbaceous plant native to cool climates of the Northern Hemisphere. They have five-petalled, spurred flowers and notched leaflets. Height: to 90cm (3ft). Family Ranunculaceae; genus Aquilegia.
Columbine
Columbine (orig. in It. comedy) the mistress of Harlequin. XVIII. — F. Colombine — It. Colombina, sb. use of fem. of colombino dove-like in gentleness (cf. prec.).
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columbine