cyclamen

[ sahy-kluh-muhn, -men, sik-luh- ]

noun

any low-growing plant of the genus Cyclamen, belonging to the primrose family, having tuberous rootstocks and nodding white, purple, pink, or crimson flowers with reflexed petals.

Origin of cyclamen

1540–50; <New Latin, Medieval Latin <Greek kyklámīnos bulbous plant, akin to kýkloscycle

Words Nearby cyclamen

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use cyclamen in a sentence

The shooting-star, a near relative of the cyclamen, is as thick upon the earth as stars up in the sky.
Your National Parks | Enos A. Mills
Even on the roadside wall the lizards run in and out amongst beds of cyclamen and tenderest ferns and mosses.
Italian Alps | Douglas William Freshfield
cyclamen presents curved surfaces, while narcissus makes her tube top narrow.
Birds and All Nature, Vol. V, No. 3, March 1899 | Various
cyclamen, snowdrop, violet, and periwinkle seeds are supposed to be carried in this way.
The Romance of Plant Life | G. F. Scott Elliot
Something like this is cyclamen, sometimes cultivated as a house plant.
Elements of Structural and Systematic Botany | Douglas Houghton Campbell

British Dictionary definitions for cyclamen

cyclamen

/ (ˈsɪkləmən, -ˌmɛn) /

noun

any Old World plant of the primulaceous genus Cyclamen, having nodding white, pink, or red flowers, with reflexed petals: See also sowbread

adjective

of a dark reddish-purple colour

Origin of cyclamen

C16: from Medieval Latin, from Latin cyclamīnos, from Greek kuklaminos, probably from kuklos circle, referring to the bulb-like roots

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

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