alexanders
Americannoun
-
a tall plant, Angelica atropurpurea, of the parsley family, having broad clusters of small white flowers.
-
a related plant, Smyrnium olusatrum, having yellowish flowers.
noun
-
a biennial umbelliferous plant, Smyrnium olusatrum, native to S Europe, with dense umbels of yellow-green flowers and black fruits
-
an umbelliferous plant, Zizia aurea, of North America, having yellow flowers in compound umbels
Etymology
Origin of alexanders
Probably < French alexandre ( s ); compare Middle English alisaundre (< OF), Old English alexandre < Medieval Latin ( petroselīnum ) Alexandrīnum a name for Smyrnium olusatrum, and synonymous with Medieval Latin petroselīnum Macedonicum, apparently through association of Macedonia with Alexander the Great; cf. parsley
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Such, to take a single case, is the history of the common alexanders, now a familiar weed around villages and farmyards, but only introduced into England as a pot-herb about the eighth or ninth century.
From Falling in Love With Other Essays on More Exact Branches of Science by Allen, Grant
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.
