dandelion

[ dan-dl-ahy-uhn ]

noun
  1. a weedy composite plant, Taraxacum officinale, having edible, deeply toothed or notched leaves, golden-yellow flowers, and rounded clusters of white, hairy seeds.

  2. any other plant of the genus Taraxacum.

Origin of dandelion

1
1505–15; <Middle French, alteration of dent de lion, literally, tooth of (a) lion, translation of Medieval Latin dēns leōnis, in allusion to the toothed leaves

Words Nearby dandelion

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use dandelion in a sentence

  • You braid it just like we braid the daisy stems and the dandelion stems in the fields.

    Patchwork | Anna Balmer Myers
  • These with many yellow compositæ or flowers like the dandelion, you will find growing on the windy hills and dry, sunny places.

    Stories of California | Ella M. Sexton
  • First, every one knows Taraxacum or dandelion; invalids know crust-coffee, and many with indignation know burnt peas.

British Dictionary definitions for dandelion

dandelion

/ (ˈdændɪˌlaɪən) /


noun
  1. a plant, Taraxacum officinale, native to Europe and Asia and naturalized as a weed in North America, having yellow rayed flowers and deeply notched basal leaves, which are used for salad or wine: family Asteraceae (composites)

  2. any of several similar related plants

Origin of dandelion

1
C15: from Old French dent de lion, literally: tooth of a lion, referring to its leaves

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012