lupine

[ loo-pin ]

See 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 lupīnuslupine²; compare German wolfsbohne lupine, literally, wolf bean

Words Nearby lupine

Other definitions for lupine (2 of 2)

lupine²

[ 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. 2023

How to use lupine in a sentence

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 | THE DAILY BEAST
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 | THE DAILY BEAST
A lavender-colored arctic lupine grows in decorative masses.
Your National Parks | Enos A. Mills
And what more thoroughly representative of cruelty, savageness, and treachery than a wolf, or even something partly lupine!
Werwolves | Elliott O'Donnell
Poppies and lupine and many others are the flower tradition of California but they are not what I mean here.
Vignettes Of San Francisco | Almira Bailey

Like these creatures, it was canine in shape—lupine we should rather say—but of an exceedingly grotesque and ungainly figure.
The Boy Slaves | Mayne Reid
There was something furtive and lupine about him that suggested the wild beast stalking its kill.
Brand Blotters | William MacLeod Raine

British Dictionary definitions for lupine

lupine

/ (ˈluːpaɪn) /

adjective

of, relating to, or resembling a wolf

Origin of 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

Scientific definitions for lupine

lupine

[ lōō′pīn′ ]

Characteristic of or resembling wolves.

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