honeysuckle

[ huhn-ee-suhk-uh l ]

/ ˈhʌn iˌsʌk əl /

noun

any upright or climbing shrub of the genus Diervilla, especially D. lonicera, cultivated for its fragrant white, yellow, or red tubular flowers.

Nearby words

Origin of honeysuckle

1225–75; Middle English honiesoukel, equivalent to honisouke (Old English hunigsūce; see honey, suck) + -el -le

Related formshon·ey·suck·led, adjective

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

Examples from the Web for honeysuckle

Seated under the bower of jasmine and honeysuckle I felt as if I were experiencing the enchantment of paradise, of another Eden.
The Story of a Child|Pierre Loti
It was June now, and the honeysuckle and traveller's joy grew high.
Margaret Vincent|Sophia Lucy Clifford
Brightly-coloured roses and forget-me-nots and honeysuckle twined round all the words.
More William|Richmal Crompton
In architectural ornament it is called the honeysuckle, which it had grown to resemble in the days of Greece.
Needlework As Art|Marian Alford

The broad, unscreened windows were wide open and vines of woodbine or honeysuckle framed them on every side.
Ladies-In-Waiting|Kate Douglas Wiggin

British Dictionary definitions for honeysuckle

honeysuckle

/ (ˈhʌnɪˌsʌkəl) /

noun

any temperate caprifoliaceous shrub or vine of the genus Lonicera: cultivated for their fragrant white, yellow, or pink tubular flowers

any of several similar plants

any of various Australian trees or shrubs of the genus Banksia, having flowers in dense spikes: family Proteaceae

Derived Formshoneysuckled, adjective

Word Origin for honeysuckle

Old English hunigsūce, from honey + suck; see suckle

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 honeysuckle

honeysuckle

mid-13c., from Old English hunigsuge, meaning perhaps honeysuckle, clover, or privet, literally "honey-suck," + diminutive suffix -le. So called because "honey" can be sucked from it. In Middle English sometimes a confused rendering of Latin locusta, taken as the name of a plant.