cinquefoil

[ singk-foil ]

/ ˈsɪŋkˌfɔɪl /

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See synonyms for cinquefoil on Thesaurus.com

noun

any of several plants belonging to the genus Potentilla, of the rose family, having yellow, red, or white five-petaled flowers, as P. reptans(creeping cinquefoil ), of the Old World, or P. argentea(silvery cinquefoil ), of North America.

Also called quinquefoil, quintefoil. Architecture. a panellike ornament consisting of five lobes, divided by cusps, radiating from a common center.

Heraldry. a charge in the form of a five-leaved clover.

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Origin of cinquefoil

First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English sink foil, from Middle French cincfoille, from Latin quīnque folia “five leaves,” translation of Greek pentáphyllon “cinquefoil,” noun use of adjective pentáphyllos “five-petalled”

Words nearby cinquefoil

cinquain, cinque, cinquecentist, cinquecento, cinquedea, cinquefoil, Cinque Ports, Cinque Terre, Cintra, Cinzano, CIO

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use cinquefoil in a sentence

In June, he writes, "The wind dies, bees hover outside the open tower windows, the cinquefoil blooms butter yellow in the meadow."
Great Weekend Reads|The Daily Beast|April 23, 2011|DAILY BEAST
On the south side the westernmost Perpendicular bay, up to the triforium, is solid and covered with cinquefoil panelling.
Bell's Cathedrals: The Cathedral Church of Ripon|Cecil Walter Charles Hallett
The panels are pointed and divided each into two cinquefoil divisions.
Bell's Cathedrals: The Cathedral Church of Ripon|Cecil Walter Charles Hallett
Over each seat is an ogee canopy, cinquefoil, crocketed, and surmounted by a huge finial.
Bell's Cathedrals: The Cathedral Church of Ripon|Cecil Walter Charles Hallett

Opposite to it is an enclosed Early English window, with cinquefoil heads and shafts in the jambs.
A Yacht Voyage Round England|W.H.G. Kingston
The Creeping Cinquefoil has a slender stem that creeps on the ground and forms new roots at the nodes.
Field and Woodland Plants|William S. Furneaux

British Dictionary definitions for cinquefoil

cinquefoil

/ (ˈsɪŋkˌfɔɪl) /

noun

any plant of the N temperate rosaceous genus Potentilla, typically having five-lobed compound leaves

an ornamental carving in the form of five arcs arranged in a circle and separated by cusps

heraldry a charge representing a five-petalled flower

Word Origin for cinquefoil

C13 sink foil, from Old French cincfoille, from Latin quinquefolium plant with five leaves, translating Greek pentaphullon from pente five + phullon leaf

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

cinquefoil

Origin of cinquefoil

Words nearby cinquefoil

Words related to cinquefoil

How to use cinquefoil in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for cinquefoil

Word Origin for cinquefoil