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.
of a dove.
dovelike; dove-colored.
a female character in commedia dell'arte and pantomime: sweetheart of Harlequin.
a female given name.
(originally) the character of a servant girl in commedia dell'arte
(later) the sweetheart of Harlequin in English pantomime
1275–1325; Middle English < Medieval Latin columbīna ( herba ) dovelike (plant), feminine of Latin columbīnus ( see columbine 2); the inverted flower looks like a group of doves
1350–1400; Middle English < Latin columbīnus, equivalent to columb ( a ) dove + -īnus -ine 1
1720–30; < Italian Columbina literally, dovelike girl; see columbine 2
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
One day in April 1999, her team faced off against a nearby rival, Columbine High.
From Salon • Jun. 2, 2026
When asked where she finds the strength to comfort these children, Jung didn’t hesitate: “From them. There’s no teacher who gets into teaching after Columbine who isn’t ready to die for their kids,” she said.
From Salon • Mar. 2, 2026
Those who were present at Columbine say the years since have given them time to learn more about what happened to them and how to cope with it.
From Seattle Times • Apr. 17, 2024
Nearly 1,000 pages of documents related to the Columbine shooting were released in 2006 as a result of an order by the Colorado Supreme Court.
From New York Times • May 22, 2023
The following is an abridged version of the first column to run after the Columbine massacre.
From "Geeks: How Two Lost Boys Rode the Internet Out of Idaho" by Jon Katz
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
