vervain

(redirected from Vervains)
Also found in: Thesaurus, Medical, Encyclopedia.

ver·vain

(vûr′vān′)

[Middle English verveine, from Old French, from Latin verbēna, leafage; see verbena.]

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.

vervain

(ˈvɜːveɪn)

(Plants) any of several verbenaceous plants of the genus Verbena, having square stems and long slender spikes of purple, blue, or white flowers

[C14: from Old French verveine, from Latin verbēna sacred bough; see verbena]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

ver•vain

(ˈvɜr veɪn)

n.

any verbena, esp. one with small flowers on spikes.

[1350–1400; Middle English vervaine < Anglo-French, Middle French verveine < Latin verbēna leafy twig, holy bough carried by priests]

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Switch to new thesaurus

Noun

vervain - any of numerous tropical or subtropical American plants of the genus Verbena grown for their showy spikes of variously colored flowers

verbena

flower - a plant cultivated for its blooms or blossoms

genus Verbena - type genus of the Verbenaceae; genus of herbaceous perennials and subshrubs

Translations

verveine

References in classic literature ?

A fisherman, it is true, had noticed her little footprints in the sand, as he went homeward along the beach with a basket of fish; a rustic had seen the child stooping to gather flowers; several persons had heard either the rattling of chariot wheels, or the rumbling of distant thunder; and one old woman, while plucking vervain and catnip, had heard a scream, but supposed it to be some childish nonsense, and therefore did not take the trouble to look up.