sowbread


Also found in: Thesaurus, Wikipedia.

sow·bread

 (sou′brĕd′)
n.
A cyclamen.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

sowbread

(ˈsaʊˌbrɛd)
n
(Plants) a S European primulaceous plant, Cyclamen hederifolium, with heart-shaped leaves and pink nodding flowers. See also cyclamen1
[C16: from sow2 + bread, based on Medieval Latin panis porcinus; the tuberous roots are eaten by swine]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Noun1.sowbread - common wild European cyclamen with pink flowerssowbread - common wild European cyclamen with pink flowers
Cyclamen hederifolium, Cyclamen neopolitanum
flower - a plant cultivated for its blooms or blossoms
genus Cyclamen - genus of widely cultivated flowering Eurasian herbs with centrally depressed rounded tubers and rounded heart-shaped leaves
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
Mentioned in ?
References in periodicals archive ?
The original houseplant cyclamen that is native to the hillsides of Southern Europe and North Africa grows from a tuber that was fed to pigs as a valuable source of starch, hence the common name of sowbread.
Notebook; Do it this week ..
The plant has a nickname, sowbread, because the tubers are regarded as a favourite food for pigs in the south of France and Italy.
Mediterranean import is a wonderful winter guest
Another common name is sowbread because in the wild, the tubers can reach considerable proportions, such that hill farmers will feed their animals with them.
Love those primulas!

Dictionary browser ?
Full browser ?