bugloss

American  

[byoo-glos, -glaws] / ˈbyu glɒs, -glɔs /

noun

1. any of various Old World, boraginaceous herbs, as Anchusa officinalis, having rough leaves, used in medicine, and Lycopsis arvensis, a bristly, blue-flowered herb.

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bugloss British  

/ ˈbjuːɡlɒs /

noun

1. any of various hairy Eurasian boraginaceous plants of the genera Anchusa , Lycopsis , and Echium , esp L. arvensis , having clusters of blue flowers See also viper's bugloss

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Etymology

Origin of bugloss

1350–1400; Middle English buglossa < Medieval Latin, for Latin būglōssos < Greek, equivalent to bou-, stem of boûs ox + -glōssos -tongued, adj. derivative of glôssa tongue

Example Sentences

The white was ox-eye daisies, bladder campion and wild carrot, with spires of bright blue from viper's bugloss.

From BBC • Oct. 30, 2025

The medicinal garden is one of eight discrete beds in the Bonnefont Cloister garden, where Montefusco and his gardeners grow such beguiling medieval herbs as viper’s bugloss, self-heal, cow-cockle and restharrow.

From Washington Post • Jun. 9, 2020

The fancy houses offered "refreshment of a special kind with a view to its effect�as stewed prunes . . . oyster pies; muscadine; raw eggs; wine with a sprig of bugloss."

From Time Magazine Archive

The name bugloss is derived from the Greek and means ox-tongue—no doubt in reference to the plant’s rough leaves.

From Springtime and Other Essays by Darwin, Francis, Sir

The angle of a field by the woods on the eastern side of the heath, the entire corner, is blue in July with viper's bugloss.

From Nature Near London by Jefferies, Richard