centaurea

[ sen-tawr-ee-uh ]

/ sɛnˌtɔr i ə /

noun

any of numerous composite plants of the genus Centaurea, having tubular flowers in a variety of colors.Compare cornflower(def 1), knapweed.

Nearby words

Origin of centaurea

< New Latin (Linnaeus) by suffix change from Medieval Latin centauria; see centaury, -ea

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for centaurea

Centaurea (Bachelor's Button) should especially have an entire bed to itself.
A Garden with House Attached|Sarah Warner Brooks
There, as in the Bakhtiari country, the people stack the Centaurea alata for winter fodder.
Journeys in Persia and Kurdistan, Volume II (of 2)|Isabella L. Bird
Give the Coleus about six inches of lee-way, also the Centaurea.
Amateur Gardencraft|Eben E. Rexford
Some cultivation was observed, but as usual weedy, abounding with two species of Centaurea.
Journals of Travels in Assam, Burma, Bhootan, Afghanistan and The|William Griffith

In Centaurea cyanea, the disposition of the limb of the ray is such that the incomplete part or the fissure is outside.
Journals of Travels in Assam, Burma, Bhootan, Afghanistan and The|William Griffith

British Dictionary definitions for centaurea

centaurea

/ (ˌsɛntɔːˈrɪə, sɛnˈtɔːrɪə) /

noun

any plant of the genus Centaurea, which includes the cornflower and knapweed

Word Origin for centaurea

C19: ultimately from Greek Kentauros the Centaur; see centaury

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