cowslip
Americannoun
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an English primrose, Primula veris, having fragrant yellow flowers.
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the marsh marigold.
noun
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Also called: paigle. a primrose, Primula veris, native to temperate regions of the Old World, having fragrant yellow flowers
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another name for marsh marigold
Etymology
Origin of cowslip
before 1000; Middle English cowslyppe, Old English cūslyppe, equivalent to cū cow 1 + slyppe, slypa slime; see slip 3
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Both the common primrose and the related cowslip drew the attention of Charles Darwin.
From Washington Post • Mar. 16, 2011
Unappreciant of news value, the three Princetonians did not realize that a limerick from the lips of an ex-President is as rare as a cowslip from Mars.
From Time Magazine Archive
There are other royal rides for those who like to look an English cowslip in the eye or find out for them selves that Mussolini did indeed make Italy's trains run on time.
From Time Magazine Archive
Three Princetonians who overlooked something as rare as a cowslip from Mars.
From Time Magazine Archive
The dry slope was dotted with rabbits—some nibbling at the thin grass near their holes, others pushing further down to look for dandelions or perhaps a cowslip that the rest had missed.
From "Watership Down: A Novel" by Richard Adams
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.
