cinquefoil

[ singk-foil ]

/ ˈsɪŋkˌfɔɪl /

SEE MORE 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.

Nearby words

cinque ports, cinque terre, cinquecentist, cinquecento, cinquedea, cinquefoil, 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

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
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
They are closely allied to cinquefoil, and all belong to the rose family.
Seed Dispersal|William J. Beal
The central doorway is divided by a clustered shaft, where from spring two cinquefoil arches.
Bell's Cathedrals: The Cathedral Church of Winchester|Philip Walsingham Sergeant

At the base of the reredos are three arches, and above five arches, with cinquefoil headings, and above these a triplet window.
The Cathedrals of Great Britain|P. H. Ditchfield
The caterpillar feeds in July and August on the flowers of cinquefoil (Potentilla), and is said to eat bramble blossoms also.
The Moths of the British Isles, Second Series|Richard South

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