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 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

Upon the platform, which I was able to reach by means of ladders and the half-ruinous spiral staircase, viper's bugloss spread its brilliant blue flowers over the dark stones, and enticed the high-soaring bees.

From Wanderings by southern waters, eastern Aquitaine by Barker, Edward Harrison