japonica

[juh-pon-i-kuh]

noun

the camellia, Camellia japonica, having waxy flowers in a variety of colors.

Nearby words

Origin of japonica

1810–20; < New Latin, equivalent to Japon(ia) Japan + -ica, feminine of -icus -ic

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

Examples from the Web for japonica

This planting (Buckwalter) consists of Castanea mollissima, mollissima hybrids and Japonica (crenata).
Northern Nut Growers Association Report of the Proceedings at the Thirty-Eighth Annual Meeting|Northern Nut Growers Association
Japonica, jap-on′i-ka, n. an abbreviation for Pyrus japonica, the Japanese quince.
Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 2 of 4: E-M)|Various
I don't think that japonica ever had as many flowers before; and what a season for tulips!
Barrington|Charles James Lever
The second popularly passes under the name of terra Japonica (Japan earth), from the old belief that it was of mineral origin.
Cooley's Cyclopdia of Practical Receipts and Collateral Information in the Arts, Manufactures, Professions, and Trades..., Sixth Edition, Volume I|Arnold Cooley

Thus in ten days he found himself in the land of the palmetto and the japonica.
A Republic Without a President and Other Stories|Herbert Ward

British Dictionary definitions for japonica

japonica

noun

Also called: Japanese quince, flowering quince a Japanese rosaceous shrub, Chaenomeles japonica, cultivated for its red flowers and yellowish fruit

another name for the camellia

Word Origin for japonica

C19: from New Latin, feminine of japonicus Japanese, from Japonia Japan

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 japonica

japonica

"camelia," 1819, Modern Latin, literally "Japanese," from Japonica "Japan," from Japon, variant of Japan.