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anemone

[ uh-nem-uh-nee ]
/ əˈnɛm əˌni /
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noun

any of various plants belonging to the genus Anemone, of the buttercup family, having petallike sepals and including several wild species with white flowers as well as others cultivated for their showy flowers in a variety of colors.
sea anemone.

RELATED WORDS

tumor, hydra, coral, coelenterate, hydroid

Nearby words

anemography, anemological, anemology, anemometer, anemometry, anemone, anemone fish, anemophilous, anemophobia, anemoscope, anemosis

Origin of anemone

1545–55; < Latin < Greek: literally, daughter of the wind, equivalent to ánem(os) wind + -ōnē feminine patronymic suffix; see -one
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for anemone

British Dictionary definitions for anemone

anemone

/ (əˈnɛmənɪ) /

noun

any ranunculaceous woodland plant of the genus Anemone of N temperate regions, such as the white-flowered A. nemorosa (wood anemone or windflower). Some cultivated anemones have lilac, pale blue, pink, purple, or red flowersSee also pasqueflower Compare sea anemone

Word Origin for anemone

C16: via Latin from Greek: windflower, from anemos wind
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

Word Origin and History for anemone

anemone

n.

flowering plant genus, 1550s, from Middle French anemone (16c.) and directly from Latin anemone, from Greek anemone "wind flower," literally "daughter of the wind," from anemos "wind" (cognate with Latin anima; see animus) + -one feminine patronymic suffix. According to Asa Gray, so called because it was thought to open only when the wind blows. Klein suggests the flower name perhaps originally is from Hebrew (cf. na'aman, in nit'e na'amanim, literally "plants of pleasantness," in Is. xvii:10, from na'em "was pleasant"). Applied to a type of sea creature (sea anemone) from 1773.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper

Science definitions for anemone

anemone

[ ə-nĕm′ə-nē ]

See sea anemone.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.