Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- adjective Having a bilaterally symmetrical corolla somewhat resembling a butterfly, characteristic of certain plants of the pea family such as a sweet pea.
from The Century Dictionary.
- Resembling the butterfly.
- In botany, having the corolla shaped like a butterfly, such as that of the pea.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- adjective Resembling the butterfly.
- adjective Having a winged corolla somewhat resembling a butterfly, as in the blossoms of the bean and pea.
- adjective Belonging to that suborder of leguminous plants (Papilionaceæ) which includes the bean, pea, vetch, clover, and locust.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- adjective Having the form of a
butterfly . - adjective botany Having
corolla with twowings resembling those of a butterfly. - adjective Of, or pertaining to the
Papilionaceae family of plants.
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
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Examples
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PapilionaceæAn order of Plants (see LEGUMINOSÆ), The flowers of these plants are called papilionaceous, or butterfly-like, from the fancied resemblance of the expanded superior petals to the wings of a butterfly.
Glossary of the Principal Scientific Terms Used in the Present Volume 1909
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-- - The flowers of these plants are called papilionaceous, or butterfly-like, from the fancied resemblance of the expanded superior petals to the wings of a butterfly.
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The leaves are chiefly of the pinnate and bi-pinnate forms, and are exceedingly beautiful when seen against the sky; a great variety of the papilionaceous family grow in this part of the country.
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The Hindu Angelina might be vacuous, vain, papilionaceous, silly, or even a mere doll, but if her hair hung down “like the tail of a Tartary cow,” 96 if her eyes were “like the stones of unripe mangoes,” and her nose resembled the beak of a parrot, the Hindu Edwin was more than satisfied.
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'It's very papilionaceous, is it not?' enquired the doctor.
Captain Corelli's Mandolin De Bernieres, Louis 2003
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'The papilionaceous and exorbitant auditory impediment?'
Captain Corelli's Mandolin De Bernieres, Louis 2003
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One of the two lateral petals of a papilionaceous flower.
Chapter 9 1999
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This papilionaceous (pea-like flowered) legume bears racemes of 4-20 yellow flowers that may be lightly to heavily streaked with purple.
Chapter 10 1996
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The pink-red or white flowers of this papilionaceous (pea-like flowered) legume are unusually large (5-10 cm in length and about 3 cm wide before opening); this novelty may be the principal reason for grandiflora having been distributed by man throughout the tropics and subtropics.
Chapter 10 1996
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This papilionaceous (pea-like flowered) legume bears racemes of 4-20 yellow flowers that may be lightly to heavily streaked with purple.
Chapter 46 1990
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