forsythia

[ fawr-sith-ee-uh, -sahy-thee-uh, fer- ]

/ fɔrˈsɪθ i ə, -ˈsaɪ θi ə, fər- /

noun

a shrub belonging to the genus Forsythia, of the olive family, native to China and southeastern Europe, species of which are cultivated for their showy yellow flowers, which blossom on the bare branches in early spring.

Nearby words

Origin of forsythia

< New Latin, after William Forsyth (1737–1804), English horticulturist; see -ia

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

Examples from the Web for forsythia

Forsythia suspensa, falling in long sweeps of yellow bells, is in some favorable places a cascade of liquid light.
Old-Time Gardens|Alice Morse Earle
In February the spring bulbs, Daffodils and Forsythia, appear.
Beautiful Gardens in America|Louise Shelton
It is unmistakably spring, because the pewit bushes are budding and on yonder aspen we can hear a forsythia bursting into song.
Mince PieAuthor: Christopher Darlington MorleyRelease Date: October 10, 2004 [eBook #13694]|Christopher Darlington Morley
You have to make little splints for them out of Forsythia twigs.
Fairy Prince and Other Stories|Eleanor Hallowell Abbott

The weigela, forsythia, and spiræa are also excellent shrubs.
Ontario Teachers' Manuals: Household Science in Rural Schools|Ministry of Education Ontario

British Dictionary definitions for forsythia

forsythia

/ (fɔːˈsaɪθɪə) /

noun

any oleaceous shrub of the genus Forsythia, native to China, Japan, and SE Europe but widely cultivated for its showy yellow bell-shaped flowers, which appear in spring before the foliage

Word Origin for forsythia

C19: New Latin, named after William Forsyth (1737–1804), English botanist

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

Word Origin and History for forsythia

forsythia

1814, coined 1805 in Modern Latin as a genus name in honor of William Forsyth (1737-1804), Scottish horticulturalist who brought the shrub from China. The family name is from Gaelic Fearsithe "man of peace."