foxglove

[ foks-gluhv ]

/ ˈfɒksˌglʌv /

noun

any Eurasian plant belonging to the genus Digitalis, of the figwort family, especially D. purpurea, having drooping, tubular, purple or white flowers on tall spikes, and leaves that are the source of digitalis in medicine.

Nearby words

foxe, foxe basin, foxe, john, foxed, foxfire, foxglove, foxhole, foxhound, foxie, foxing, foxtail

Origin of foxglove

before 1000; Middle English foxes glove, Old English foxes glōfa. See fox, glove

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

Examples from the Web for foxglove

It is usually combined with infusion of juniper berries or foxglove.
Cooley's Practical Receipts, Volume II|Arnold Cooley
The band, the members of which were perched in the swinging flowers of a foxglove close by, played lustily during the feast.
Goblin Tales of Lancashire|James Bowker
I have mentioned some already for your garden:—Canterbury bell, cornflower and foxglove are biennials.
The Library of Work and Play: Gardening and Farming.|Ellen Eddy Shaw
The foxglove blossom—a third part bud, a third part past, a third part in full bloom—is a type of the life of this world.
Dictionary of Quotations from Ancient and Modern, English and Foreign Sources|James Wood

They would arrange flowers in the épergne, she suggested—a few sweet williams and mignonette and a foxglove or two.
Halcyone|Elinor Glyn

British Dictionary definitions for foxglove

foxglove

/ (ˈfɒksˌɡlʌv) /

noun

any Eurasian scrophulariaceous plant of the genus Digitalis, esp D. purpurea, having spikes of purple or white thimble-like flowers. The soft wrinkled leaves are a source of digitalis

Word Origin for foxglove

Old English

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 foxglove

foxglove

Old English foxes glofa; the reason for fox is uncertain. Cf. Old English foxesfot ("fox foot") "xiphion;" foxesclate "burdock."

Medicine definitions for foxglove

foxglove

[ fŏks′glŭv′ ]

n.

Any of several herbs of the genus Digitalis, especially D. purpurea, having a long cluster of large, tubular, pinkish-purple flowers and leaves that are the source of the drug digitalis.