passionflower

American

[pash-uhn-flou-er] / ˈpæʃ ənˌflaʊ ər /

noun

any chiefly American climbing vine or shrub of the genus Passiflora, having showy flowers and a pulpy berry or fruit that in some species is edible.

passionflower British

/ ˈpæʃənˌflaʊə /

noun

any passifloraceous plant of the tropical American genus Passiflora, cultivated for their red, yellow, greenish, or purple showy flowers: some species have edible fruit See also granadilla

"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

Etymology

Origin of passionflower

1605–15; translation of New Latin flōs passiōnis flower of the Passion; so named because the parts of the flower were imagined as symbolic of the objects and events of Christ's Passion

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023