delphinium

[ del-fin-ee-uhm ]

noun,plural del·phin·i·ums, del·phin·i·a

[del-fin-ee-uh]. /dɛlˈfɪn i ə/.

any of numerous plants of the genus Delphinium, especially any of various tall, cultivated species having usually blue, pink, or white flowers.

Origin of delphinium

1655–65; <New Latin <Greek delphī́nion larkspur, derivative of delphī́s (stem delphīn-) dolphin; so called from the shape of the nectary

Compare larkspur.

Words Nearby delphinium

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

How to use delphinium in a sentence

On either side of the delphinium have clumps of about a dozen Lilium candidum, which bloom at the same time.
A Woman's Hardy Garden | Helena Rutherfurd Ely
Good-sized roots of the delphinium formosum, lovely dark blue, are a dollar and twenty-five cents a dozen.
A Woman's Hardy Garden | Helena Rutherfurd Ely
There is a horrid small white worm which attacks the roots of the delphinium, and gives no sign until you see the plant dying.
A Woman's Hardy Garden | Helena Rutherfurd Ely
As I have said before, the delphinium blossoms at the same time as Lilium candidum, and should be planted near by.
A Woman's Hardy Garden | Helena Rutherfurd Ely
As the lilies faded and the delphinium grew old and went to seed, the old stalks were cut away.
Trees, Fruits and Flowers of Minnesota, 1916 | Various

British Dictionary definitions for delphinium

delphinium

/ (dɛlˈfɪnɪəm) /

nounplural -iums or -ia (-ɪə)

any ranunculaceous plant of the genus Delphinium: many varieties are cultivated as garden plants for their spikes of blue, pink, or white spurred flowers: See also larkspur

Origin of delphinium

C17: New Latin, from Greek delphinion larkspur, from delphis dolphin, referring to the shape of the nectary

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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