cornflower

[ kawrn-flou-er ]

/ ˈkɔrnˌflaʊ ər /

noun

Also called bachelor's-button, bluebottle. a European composite plant, Centaurea cyanus, growing in grainfields, having blue to white flower heads, often cultivated as an ornamental.

Also called cornflower blue. a deep, vivid blue.

corn cockle.

strawflower(def 2).

Nearby words

cornfield, cornfield ant, cornflag, cornflakes, cornflour, cornflower, cornforth, cornforth, sir john warcup, cornhole, cornhouse, cornhusk

Origin of cornflower

First recorded in 1570–80; corn¹ + flower

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for cornflower

I have mentioned some already for your garden:—Canterbury bell, cornflower and foxglove are biennials.
The Library of Work and Play: Gardening and Farming.|Ellen Eddy Shaw
For instance, I decorated a room in soft cream, gray, yellow and cornflower blue.
The House in Good Taste|Elsie de Wolfe
He was wearing a bright blue tie and a cornflower in his buttonhole, and his sandy hair was sleekly brushed.
His Family|Ernest Poole
Far out in the sea the water is as blue as the petals of the cornflower, and clear as the purest glass.
The Dust Flower|Basil King

The chintz had a cornflower design that repeated all these colors.
The House in Good Taste|Elsie de Wolfe

British Dictionary definitions for cornflower

cornflower

/ (ˈkɔːnˌflaʊə) /

noun

a Eurasian herbaceous plant, Centaurea cyanus, with blue, purple, pink, or white flowers, formerly a common weed in cornfields: family Asteraceae (composites)Also called: bluebottle See also bachelor's-buttons

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