Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun Any of various ornamental, mostly climbing plants of the genus Clematis in the buttercup family, native chiefly to northern temperate regions and having showy, variously colored flowers or decorative fruit clusters.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun A genus of plants, mostly herbaceous climbers. natural order Ranunculaceæ.
- noun [lowercase] A plant of the genus Clematis.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun (Bot.) A genus of flowering plants, of many species, mostly climbers, having feathery styles, which greatly enlarge in the fruit; -- called also
virgin's bower .
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun botany Any plant of the genus
Clematis ,vigorous climbing lianas found throughout thetemperate zones .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun any of various ornamental climbing plants of the genus Clematis usually having showy flowers
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
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Examples
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Bookboxed – the clematis is one of the stars of the garden, it’s true.
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The additional trees and shrubs in flower are the tamarisk, altheas, Venetian sumach, pomegranates, the beautiful passion-flower, the trumpet flower, and the virgin's bower or clematis, which is such a quick and handsome climber.
The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction Volume 10, No. 267, August 4, 1827 Various
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And the only drawback to climbing roses is their bare legs; I use their woody-stemmed canes as living supports for loose-limbed, delicate vines such as clematis, love-in-a-puff and sweet peas or I plant perennials or shrubs in front of them.
Suzy Bales: Up, Up and Away With Climbing Roses (PHOTOS) 2010
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Their only draw back is their bare legs so I use the woody-stemmed canes of the roses as living supports for loose-limbed, delicate vines such as clematis, love-in-a puff, honeysuckle and sweet peas.
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Spirea Van Houttii, best known as Bridal Wreath, we might include and a few of the hardy vines if a trellis or other support was given for them, such as clematis paniculata, coccinea and jackmani, the large purple and white honeysuckle, Chinese matrimony vine, etc.
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A black and yellow Monarch glided over the trellis, fluttering its wings as it perched on the clematis leaf.
Chicken Soup for the Soul: Grieving and Recovery Jack Canfield 2011
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My eyes fixed on a cocoon attached to the bottom side of a green clematis leaf winding around the trellis.
Chicken Soup for the Soul: Grieving and Recovery Jack Canfield 2011
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I fired off an email to the Board and the Landscape Committee demanding an apology and suggesting that I should be reimbursed for the plants that I can replace (the clematis cannot be replaced …).
2010 May « Mudpuddle 2010
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A quick rush of embarrassment flooded to the Majors cheeks and he smoothed helplessly at the lap of his crimson, clematis-covered housecoat with hands that felt like spades.
Excerpt: Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson 2010
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He started fumbling for the pockets of his trousers, which were somewhere under the clematis.
Excerpt: Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson 2010
chained_bear commented on the word clematis
This always sounded like a dirty word to me. Pretty flowers, but... don't like the word much.
November 30, 2007
reesetee commented on the word clematis
It sounds most dirty when you emphasize the first syllable, I think. (Some pronounce it with emphasis on the second.)
November 30, 2007
chained_bear commented on the word clematis
Well, OK, but I pronounce it cleh-MAH-tis, and I still think it sounds dirty. Even with the accent on the middle sylLAble.
December 1, 2007
reesetee commented on the word clematis
I agree. So I just avoid saying it. Which is more difficult than you might think when it's growing in your own backyard.
December 2, 2007