edelweiss

[eyd-l-vahys, -wahys]

noun

1. a small composite plant, Leontopodium alpinum, having white woolly leaves and flowers, growing in the high altitudes of the Alps.

2. a liqueur made in Italy, flavored with the extracts of alpine flowers.

edelweiss

/ ˈeɪdəlˌvaɪs /

noun

1. a small alpine flowering plant, Leontopodium alpinum, having white woolly oblong leaves and a tuft of attractive floral leaves surrounding the flowers: family Asteraceae (composites)

Word History and Origins

Origin of edelweiss¹

1860–65; < German, equivalent to edel noble + weiss white

Word History and Origins

Origin of edelweiss¹

C19: German, literally: noble white

Example Sentences

The edelweiss has been replanted and, perhaps, next spring, its small white flowers will look happy to meet the next batch of tourists.

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Bellotti added a Swiss touch with leather clad cowbells on bags, and edelweiss hanging by a chain in a mesh pouch.

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Why are one lady’s edelweiss plants — bought to remind herself of a walking holiday in the Dolomites — all “looking quite dead?”

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There’s a dreamy longing to Melua’s tunes about faded love, reality and illusion, the tug of roots and edelweiss.

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Even outside Oktoberfest season, which finished Sunday after 16 days of drunken beer tent fun, the cool kids wear pretzel-shaped studs and edelweiss caps.

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