Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A perennial plant of the genus Delphinium of the buttercup family, especially any of several tall cultivated varieties having palmate leaves and long racemes of showy, variously colored spurred flowers.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun An extensive genus of the natural order Ranunculaceæ, consisting of annual or perennial herbaceous plants, with usually blue, purple, or white flowers.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A cultivated plant, belonging to the genus Delphinium, with tall blue-colored spikes containing flowers.
  • noun A shade of blue, named for the flowers.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun any plant of the genus Delphinium having palmately divided leaves and showy spikes of variously colored spurred flowers; some contain extremely poisonous substances

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[New Latin Delphinium, genus name, from Greek delphinion, larkspur, probably diminutive of delphīs, delphīn-, dolphin (from the shape of the nectary).]

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word delphinium.

Examples

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.