cinquefoil
[ singk-foil ]
/ ˈsɪŋkˌfɔɪl /
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.
RELATED WORDS
pentangle, pentagram, quintuple, lustrum, cinque, quinquennium, pentacle, quintuplet, pentagon, limerick, pentad, quincunx, quinquennial, quintuplicate
Nearby words
- cinque ports,
- cinque terre,
- cinquecentist,
- cinquecento,
- cinquedea,
- cintra,
- cinzano,
- cinéma vérité,
- cio,
- cion
Origin of cinquefoil
1375–1425; late Middle English sink foil < Middle French cincfoille < Latin quīnque folia five leaves, translation of Greek pentáphyllon
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web 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
from Latin quinquefolium, from quinque (see five) + folium (see folio).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper