Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A Eurasian primrose (Primula veris) having fragrant yellow flowers, widely cultivated as an ornamental and long used in herbal medicine.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun The popular name of several varieties of Primula veris, a favorite wild flower found in British pastures and hedge-banks, and cultivated in the United States. It has umbels of small, buff-yellow, scented flowers on short pedicels. Its flowers have been used as an anodyne.
- noun In the United States, the more common name of the marsh-marigold, Caltha palustris.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun (Bot.) A common flower in England (
Primula veris ) having yellow blossoms and appearing in early spring. It is often cultivated in the United States. - noun In the United States, the marsh marigold (
Caltha palustris ), appearing in wet places in early spring and often used as a pot herb. It is nearer to a buttercup than to a true cowslip. SeeIllust. ofMarsh marigold . - noun (Bot.) a pretty flower of the West (
Dodecatheon Meadia ), belonging to the same order (Primulaceæ) with the English cowslip. - noun (Bot.) bear's-ear (
Primula Auricula ).
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A
low -growingplant , Primula veris, withyellow flowers . - noun North America, regional A plant in the
buttercup family, Caltha palustris, growing inwet ,boggy locations.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun swamp plant of Europe and North America having bright yellow flowers resembling buttercups
- noun early spring flower common in British isles having fragrant yellow or sometimes purple flowers
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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We gathered a few, however, by way of doing our Maying, adding to them some violets scattered along the roadside, and a bunch of the golden flowers of the marsh marigold, which enticed us off the road into a low, boggy spot, by their bright blossoms; a handsome flower, this – the country people call it cowslip, though differing entirely from the true plant of that name.
Rural Hours 1887
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Lordy massy, yest 'day arternoon I see yer Aunt Keziah an' yer Aunt Lois out a cuttin 'cowslip greens t'other side o' th 'river, an' the sun it shone so bright, an 'the turtles an' frogs they kind o 'peeped so pleasant, an' yer aunts they sot on the bank so kind o 'easy an' free, an 'I stood there a lookin' on 'em, an 'I could n't help a thinkin', 'Lordy messy, I wish t' I wus an old maid. '
Oldtown Folks 1869
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_If a child be delicate, is there any objection to a little wine, such as cowslip or tent, to strengthen him_?
Advice to a Mother on the Management of Her Children Pye Henry Chavasse 1844
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"D'you know that the green of the cowslip is the most beautiful green in all Nature, Joan?
Lying Prophets Eden Phillpotts 1911
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The warden and her volunteers had banished from the graveyard the regimental stripes of the lawn mower and the bleach lines of weed killers, encouraging instead a profusion of what nature writer Richard Mabey calls "the wild flowers of the English pastoral," such as primrose, lady's slipper and cowslip.
Stow the Mower, Stop Pulling Bill Laws 2011
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The warden and her volunteers had banished from the graveyard the regimental stripes of the lawn mower and the bleach lines of weed killers, encouraging instead a profusion of what nature writer Richard Mabey calls "the wild flowers of the English pastoral," such as primrose, lady's slipper and cowslip.
Stow the Mower, Stop Pulling Bill Laws 2011
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Roses vied for attention with more common blooms—cowslip, stock, gillyflowers, and white violets.
Secrets of the Tudor Court Kate Emerson 2010
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Roses vied for attention with more common blooms—cowslip, stock, gillyflowers, and white violets.
Secrets of the Tudor Court Kate Emerson 2010
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Roses vied for attention with more common blooms—cowslip, stock, gillyflowers, and white violets.
Secrets of the Tudor Court Kate Emerson 2010
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Roses vied for attention with more common blooms—cowslip, stock, gillyflowers, and white violets.
Secrets of the Tudor Court Kate Emerson 2010
slumry commented on the word cowslip
an English primrose, Primula veris. Lovely!
July 18, 2007
arby commented on the word cowslip
Does anyone know why it's called this? I always picture a cow slipping on something in the pasture. Perhaps its own cow pie?
July 19, 2007
reesetee commented on the word cowslip
You may be close, arby--I think it comes from an Old English word that combines "cow" and "slime." Yuck. Should be a better word for such a nice flower.
July 19, 2007
jennarenn commented on the word cowslip
Probably a reference to what usually fertilized the flower.
July 19, 2007