Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A pimpernel (Anagallis arvensis) having small flowers that are usually red but may be blue or white.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A
flowering plant , Anagallis arvensis, of thePrimulaceae family , having smallorange flowers.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun herb with scarlet or white or purple blossoms that close at approach of rainy weather
Etymologies
Sorry, no etymologies found.
Support
Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word scarlet pimpernel.
Examples
Sorry, no example sentences found.
treeseed commented on the word scarlet pimpernel
"The Scarlet pimpernel (Red pimpernel, Red chickweed, Poor man's barometer, Shepherd's weather glass, or Shepherd's clock; Anagallis arvensis) is a low-growing, annual plant in the family Myrsinaceae, growing in Europe, Asia and North America.
The stems are about 45 cm long and generally prostrate. The bright green ovate sessile leaves grow opposite. The small orange flowers grow in the leaf axils from spring till autumn. The petal margin is somewhat crenate."
_Wikipedia
"The Scarlet Pimpernel is a classic play and adventure novel by Baroness Emmuska Orczy, set during the Reign of Terror following the French Revolution. A secret society of English aristocrats, known as the League of the Scarlet Pimpernel, is engaged in rescuing their French counterparts from the guillotine. Their leader, the Scarlet Pimpernel, takes his nickname from the small red flower with which he signs his messages. Despite being the talk of London society, no one except his small band of 19 followers, and possibly his close friend, the Prince of Wales, knows the Pimpernel's true identity."
_Wikipedia
January 25, 2008