columbine1
[kol-uh m-bahyn]
- a plant, Aquilegia caerula, of the buttercup family, having showy flowers with white petals and white to blue sepals that form long, backward spurs: the state flower of Colorado.
- any of various other plants of the genus Aquilegia, characterized by divided leaves and showy flowers of various colors.
Show More
Origin of columbine1
1275–1325; Middle English < Medieval Latin columbīna (herba) dovelike (plant), feminine of Latin columbīnus (see columbine2); the inverted flower looks like a group of doves
columbine2
[kol-uh m-bahyn, -bin]
- of a dove.
- dovelike; dove-colored.
Show More
Origin of columbine2
Columbine
[kol-uh m-bahyn]
- a female character in commedia dell'arte and pantomime: sweetheart of Harlequin.
- a female given name.
Show More
Origin of Columbine
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for columbine
Contemporary Examples
In the eyes of the NRA, Rambo is as grave a threat to gun rights as The Fonz—or the director of Bowling for Columbine.
Rambo Hates Guns: How Sylvester Stallone Became the Most Anti-Gun Celeb in HollywoodAsawin Suebsaeng
August 14, 2014
Gun massacres like Newtown and Columbine can destroy communities, families, and schools.
But school-based arrests in Pennsylvania alone went up by 300 percent since Columbine.
‘Kids for Cash’: Crooked Judge, Damaged Teens, and the Perils of Zero ToleranceRonald K. Fried
February 25, 2014
“Before Columbine, juvenile crime had been coming down,” May said.
‘Kids for Cash’: Crooked Judge, Damaged Teens, and the Perils of Zero ToleranceRonald K. Fried
February 25, 2014
In a kind of manifesto, the Virginia Tech killer had written about the two Columbine killers.
Historical Examples
Fennel, for instance, emblemised flattery, and columbine ingratitude.
StoryologyBenjamin Taylor
Climene had been silent and thoughtful, pondering what Columbine had called this romance of hers.
ScaramoucheRafael Sabatini
There, still at his brooding, the returning Columbine discovered him a half-hour later.
ScaramoucheRafael Sabatini
Columbine snapped like the shrew she masked: "You little sneak!"
NobodyLouis Joseph Vance
Hold on a minute, I'm going to shift my saddle to Columbine.
Peggy Stewart at SchoolGabrielle E. Jackson
columbine1
- any plant of the ranunculaceous genus Aquilegia, having purple, blue, yellow, or red flowers with five spurred petalsAlso called: aquilegia
Show More
Word Origin
C13: from Medieval Latin columbīna herba dovelike plant, from Latin columbīnus dovelike, from the resemblance of the flower to a group of doves
columbine2
- of, relating to, or resembling a dove
Show More
Word Origin
C14: from Old French colombin, from Latin columbīnus dovelike, from columba dove
Columbine
- (originally) the character of a servant girl in commedia dell'arte
- (later) the sweetheart of Harlequin in English pantomime
Show More
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
Word Origin and History for columbine
n.
c.1300, from Old French columbine "columbine," or directly from Medieval Latin columbina, from Late Latin columbina "verbena," fem. of Latin columbinus, literally "dove-like," from columba "dove." The inverted flower supposedly resembles a cluster of five doves. Also a fem. proper name; in Italian comedy, the name of the mistress of Harlequin.
Show More
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper