lupine

[loo-pin]

See more synonyms for lupine on Thesaurus.com

noun

any of numerous plants belonging to the genus Lupinus, of the legume family, as L. albus (white lupine), of Europe, bearing edible seeds, or L. perennis, of the eastern U.S., having tall, dense clusters of blue, pink, or white flowers.

Origin of lupine

1350–1400; Middle English < Latin lupīnus, lupīnum, apparently noun use of lupīnus lupine²; compare German wolfsbohne lupine, literally, wolf bean

lupine

[loo-pahyn]

adjective

pertaining to or resembling the wolf.
related to the wolf.
savage; ravenous; predatory.

Origin of lupine

1650–60; < Latin lupīnus of a wolf, equivalent to lup(us) wolf + -īnus -ine¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for lupine

plant, fierce, rapacious, ravenous, wolfish

Examples from the Web for lupine

Contemporary Examples of lupine

Akysonov has a gang of fascistic ultras known as the Lupine Hordes, which are intent on invading Moscow and restoring Holy Russia.
This 1979 Novel Predicted Putin’s Invasion Of Crimea
Michael Weiss
May 18, 2014
America is at war with Lupine rebels, because the country is rich in uranium.
The Werewolf Novel as Post-9/11 Political Allegory?
Roxane Gay
May 16, 2013

Historical Examples of lupine

He had, however, taught his wife how to treat him when in his lupine form.
Traditions, Superstitions and Folk-lore
Charles Hardwick
Burton, this lupine, leering lover of blood—this killer of women.
The Red Debt
Everett MacDonald
This had, for two or three days, disputed the ground with the lupine and phlox.
At Home And Abroad
Margaret Fuller Ossoli
She was on her way, I suppose, to some wild garden, probably for lupine and starchy saxifrage leaves and rootstocks.
My First Summer in the Sierra
John Muir
Lupine-seed, in plant-lore “lupine” means wolfish, and is suggestive of the Evil One.
The Browning Cyclopdia
Edward Berdoe

British Dictionary definitions for lupine

lupine

adjective

of, relating to, or resembling a wolf

Word Origin for lupine

C17: from Latin lupīnus, from lupus wolf

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 lupine

adj.

"wolf-like," 1650s, from French lupine "wolf-like," from Latin lupinus "of the wolf," from lupus "wolf" (see wolf (n.)).

lupine in Science

lupine

[lōō′pīn′]

Characteristic of or resembling wolves.