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pasqueflower

[pask-flou-er]
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noun
  1. an Old World plant, Anemone pulsatilla, of the buttercup family, having purple, crocuslike flowers blooming about Easter.
  2. a related plant, A. patens, having similar flowers: the state flower of South Dakota.

Origin of pasqueflower

Pasque (variant spelling of Pasch) + flower (so named by the herbalist Gerarde in 1597); replacing passeflower < Middle French passefleur; see pass
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
British Dictionary definitions for pasqueflower

pasqueflower

noun
  1. a purple-flowered herbaceous ranunculaceous plant, Anemone pulsatilla (or Pulsatilla vulgaris), of N and Central Europe and W Asia
  2. any of several related North American plants, such as A. patens
Symbol: paschal flower, pulsatilla

Word Origin

C16: from French passefleur, from passer to excel + fleur flower; changed to pasqueflower Easter flower, because it blooms at Easter
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