a plant, Aquilegia caerula, of the buttercup family, having showy flowers with white petals and white to blue sepals that form long, backward spurs: the state flower of Colorado.
any of various other plants of the genus Aquilegia, characterized by divided leaves and showy flowers of various colors.
of a dove.
dovelike; dove-colored.
a female character in commedia dell'arte and pantomime: sweetheart of Harlequin.
a female given name.
(originally) the character of a servant girl in commedia dell'arte
(later) the sweetheart of Harlequin in English pantomime
1275–1325; Middle English < Medieval Latin columbīna ( herba ) dovelike (plant), feminine of Latin columbīnus ( see columbine 2); the inverted flower looks like a group of doves
1350–1400; Middle English < Latin columbīnus, equivalent to columb ( a ) dove + -īnus -ine 1
1720–30; < Italian Columbina literally, dovelike girl; see columbine 2
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
One day in April 1999, her team faced off against a nearby rival, Columbine High.
From Salon • Jun. 2, 2026
After an early version of the script made the rounds online, TMZ got in touch with Tom Mauser, whose son, Daniel, was killed in the 1999 shooting at Columbine High School.
From Salon • Apr. 9, 2026
The rise in active-shooter drills at American schools has coincided with the growing phenomenon of mass shootings in the U.S., as well as media coverage focused on school massacres including Columbine, Sandy Hook and Uvalde.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 12, 2024
“I grabbed my little girl and clenched her to my chest,” one mom, a Columbine survivor, told him on the day her own daughter started kindergarten.
From Seattle Times • Oct. 31, 2023
The following is an abridged version of the first column to run after the Columbine massacre.
From "Geeks: How Two Lost Boys Rode the Internet Out of Idaho" by Jon Katz
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
